


You Bet

by poppysmc (dashboardconfessions)



Category: PlayChoices, Queen B (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26281492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dashboardconfessions/pseuds/poppysmc
Relationships: Poppy Min-Sinclair/Main Character (Queen B)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 53





	1. Wanna Bet?

"Hey Pop. Isn’t that the new girl?” Veronica whispers to her as she extends her arms, blocking her from walking. Poppy expresses her disinterest with a scoff, not even bothering to look up from her phone.

“I don’t care.” Poppy exhales, pushing her arms aside and continues walking. When she doesn’t follow, she resorts to dragging Veronica by her arm, whose gaze is still locked to the blonde girl.

“Seriously V? Concentrate. Watch where you’re going.” Poppy chides her, peeved at her diverted attention. Veronica narrowly dodges the column, Poppy chuckles and the look on her face says “I told you so.” She barely dodges a trashcan herself, as she’s laughing. She pretends not to notice Veronica’s deadpan expression.

“Anyway… Look. she’s your type. Hot, blonde and fierce.” Veronica knows that will get her attention in an instant. Poppy stops in her tracks and abruptly looks up, earning a laugh from Veronica. She scrutinizes the girl in front of her with narrowed eyes, looking for any imperfections but all she can find are her off brand clothing. _And she is gorgeous…damn._ Poppy immediately straightens up; closing her mouth and schools her face into a disinterested scowl.

“I knew it.” Veronica smirks at her, thrilled at her discovery. “You have the hots for Farmsville.” 

“I’m not interested.” Veronica gives her a knowing look, she directs her gaze back to the new girl and laughs at the scene. Poppy follows her gaze to the benches, they see the new girl in a fiery argument with Chloe, their friend fuming, her voice in a near shouts and the new girl bites back.

“Are you gonna rescue Chloe? Please say yes.” Veronica asks her, delighted, as she’s already getting her phone out. “This is going to be interesting.” They both sidle up to Chloe in show of support. Poppy gets into a confrontation with the new girl, giving her a few choice nicknames. She is pleasantly surprised that the girl did have fire in her. Who else would take her head on? _Veronica is right, she is her type._

Their squabble quickly becomes heated, with the new girl threatening to usurp her. In the middle of their verbal beat down, the new girl is suddenly pulled away and disappears into a building. Leaving her staring at the spot where she was standing.

Veronica starts laughing, pointing her camera to the queen's perplexed face. “The look on your face Pop. I guess newbie already has a knight in shining armor.” Poppy does get a bit jealous at that, but knowing Veronica, she’s just trying to get a reaction out of her for her Veronicats.

She doesn’t humor her with a response, instead she walks to the benches, glaring at the crowd still lingering around them. They disperse rather quickly, terrified of her temper. She admonishes Chloe for being too carried away with her anger.

A few minutes later, Veronica suddenly jumps, startling Chloe. “I’ve got an idea.”

“No.” Poppy quickly retorts. Veronica and her sudden ideas are not a good combination.

“Oh come on, this one’s really interesting.” Veronica tries to convince Poppy to listen to what she has to say.

“The last few times you said that you got us all in trouble.” Chloe reminds her, shuddering at the memory.

Looking at Poppy with puppy dog eyes, Veronica pleads with her.

“Spit it out. Can’t I have my lunch in peace?” Poppy finally looks at her, clearly irritated. Veronica just beams in response, used to her temper, she knows that it’s all for show and that she has a soft spot for her friends.

“Let’s have a bet.” She says excitedly, certain that the strawberry blonde never backs down from any challenge. The indignant look that crosses Poppy's face alone is worth it.

“What bet?” She eyes her suspiciously.

Veronica smirks at her, knowing she’ll accept it eventually. “Make Morgan Hughes fall in love with you.” Her eyes sparkle mischievously. “Your time limit is a month; you can choose to do whatever you want after. I’ll give you my Lamborghini if you win, you give me your Bugatti if you fail.” 

“Are you insane? I’m not going to be a part of your little games” Poppy waves her off. “Besides, I can buy myself a Lamborghini if I want to.”

“Seriously Pop, are you scared? I said “if” she falls in love, dont be so sure of yourself. To make this interesting I can be your personal chauffer for a month and all my vlogs will be Poppy-centric.” _Hook, line and sinker._

She thinks for a moment. and responds. “I’m Poppy Min-Sinclair, I’m never scared. But if this blows up in our faces, I’m blaming you.” Poppy jabs a finger in her chest, then forcefully prods her food, her head already churning out ideas.

“I knew you couldn’t resist. You better start now. From what I saw this morning you’re already at a disadvantage. tick tock!”


	2. All Over Me

Poppy's group leave Belvoire early in the afternoon after their classes. They planned on perusing several stores downtown for the stuff she needed.

_Why did_ _she let Veronica talk her into this?_ _If I get humiliated, I’m going to kill her._ Poppy silently curses herself and her friend.

“V, if you’re not going to help, go outside.” Poppy’s eyes start twitching at all the frilly and fuzzy things that Veronica is sticking under her nose.

“But I am helping.” She drops the bear she’s holding and sulks, Chloe pats her in the back.

Several hours of shopping and she’s ready to pull all her hair out. Who knew it would be this hard. She normally likes shopping, but this? She can barely tolerate.

* * *

Poppy planned a full on romantic apology and then she’ll ask her out. That’s what girls want right? She just assumes, she's never been the romantic type. Even with numerous men and women clamouring for her affection, she never really felt a romantic connection with any of them.

She sets everything up, with the help of Chloe, her ever loyal pup. Veronica is tasked to distract the roommate, for a few hours at least. She’s confident that she’ll succeed in the first try, she could almost see the look in Veronica’s face. “I can’t wait to be driven around by Veronica.” She grins and continues preparing with renewed confidence. After all, who could ever resist her…

Poppy waits in the room; Chloe goes outside, hidden, keeping watch for Morgan. Tasked of texting her when she gets close.

* * *

_Earlier, Veronica suggested that she surprise her. “Hide under the bed. Then when she enters jump out and offer her your flower."_

_"_ _What the hell, V! Stop being gross.” Poppy turns away, blushing._

_“I didn’t mean it like that, I swear. Get your mind out of the gutter, Pop. I meant your bouquet obviously. Why would you even think that?” She wiggles her eyebrows at Chloe, who silently laughs behind Poppy’s back.”_

* * *

_Should I do it? Ugh, who knows what I’ll find under there._ She decides to crawl under anyway, the floor was surprisingly clean, to her relief. She almost falls asleep, Morgan was taking way too long. Before she dozes off, Chloe texts her informing her that her target is entering the room. Poppy hears the bedroom door open, then she sees legs slowly coming closer over to her hiding spot.

_Okay, deep breaths. One, two, three._ Poppy tries to get it together, preparing for the surprise. She was ready to jump out when a shirt drops in front of her, followed by jeans. She instantly knew what was happening, Morgan is undressing above her.

“Oh god, no. this isn’t happening to me.” Poppy’s eyes widen and was blushing furiously. She thinks of ways on how she’s getting out. Her plans very quickly turns out into a disaster.

She sees Morgan’s legs retreat. She waits for a moment until she hears the door to the bathroom close, giving her a split second chance to escape, she slowly and quietly crawls out of the bed. There’s a soft click and the lights flick on.

A blood curdling scream is heard throughout the building. “God, what’s wrong with you, newbie?” Poppy straightens up and approaches her.

“If you’re here to kill me, you better make it quick.” Morgan croaks out, slowly backing away, forgetting her state of undress.

A beat passes between them. Poppy finally gets it. “Wait! No, I’m not here to-” She tries to defend herself, she was caught in an awkward position. Before she can eloquently pry herself out of the situation, almost half of the floor’s occupants rush in to see what the commotion is about. They see them both looking at each other, Morgan half naked with Poppy standing beside her. 

Poppy realizes what’s happening, she comes closer to her and places her body to cover Morgan’s, to preserve her decency.

Poppy was absolutely mortified. She musters up whatever’s left of her bitchy aura to glare at the surrounding crowd, they mumble and retreat. She grabs the towel and throws it over to Morgan, not before catching sight of her toned body.

_Oh, she’s hot too._ She walks out averting her eyes. She drags an equally embarrassed Chloe, who lingered by the doorway, she shoos the lingering crowd back to the hall and closes the door. 

Poppy leaves Morgan all confused. She sighs helplessly and leans her back to the door. “What the hell was that?”

Morgan finally gets the chance to look around her room. The floor was scattered with rose petals and unlit candles. _“What is happening?”_ A notification from her phone interrupts her train of thought. She reaches for it and surprise, surprise it’s their photos from earlier posted in The T.

****

**Good Evening Thoroughbreds!**

**_Our very own newbie, Morgan Hughes is caught climbing something (or should I say someone) other than the Queen B’s rank. Kudos to Queen Min-Sinclair, Hughes is a catch._ **

**_\- Kisses The T_ **

Morgan sighs at the misunderstanding, they make her sound so desperate. She catches sight of a paper left in her bed, she picks it up and sees that it's a letter from Poppy. _Of course her handwriting’s perfect too, all curves and loops._

**_Morgan,_ **

**_I know we didn’t have a great start earlier, but it’s not entirely my fault that you were being too annoying, but anyway let me make it up to you._ **

**_-P_ **

_God, can she be anymore abrasive?_ Morgan tosses the letter over to her dresser, she could almost hear Poppy's voice as she was reading it.

* * *

Poppy and Chloe cut across the quad running, she quickly grabs Veronica who’s still flirting with Zoey, dragging her along. Veronica makes a “call me” sign at Zoey, who laughs at her. “Wait I’m still- W-what are we running from?”

“Poppy’s disaster.” Chloe casually replies, earning a swift slap on the back of her head.

“Shut up Chloe, and it’s not my fault anyway.” She grits her teeth at the memory.

They can finally catch their breath in the safety of the Zeta Sorority House. Their phones chime simultaneously a moment later. Poppy already knows what it's about.Veronica pulls her phone out and bursts out laughing, earning a dirty look from Poppy. “How can you go from an apology to this? Only you Poppy.” She shakes her head, still snickering.

“I can never show my face to her ever again.” Poppy groans as she lies down in the sofa and buries her face on the cushion.

“Are you conceding? It’s been what, barely a day?” Veronica makes grabby hands, asking for her car keys.

“No. Stop that, not yet. I just have to think of something else.” It all comes out as a muffled reply.

“Maybe you should try for a more direct approach.” Chloe advises her while patting her head.

“How much more can you be direct, Chloe?” Veronica asks.

“You two just shut up.” Poppy growls, exasperated.

* * *

“Guess what? What in the hell?” Zoey walks in Morgan’s room; she sees her miserably picking off all the petals Poppy scattered in her carpet, which were too excessive.

“Zoey…”

“I think someone’s trying to tell you something.” Zoey chuckles, getting the vacuum from the storage. “She must have bought all the flowers in the shops downtown.”

“Please, I’m not going to fall for it. If she thinks for one second that I-” She picks up a bouquet on the other side of the bed, one that Poppy was supposed to surprise her with.

“You what?” Zoey looks at her knowingly.

“I’m still apprehensive, she’s all up in my throat earlier. What changed?” Morgan looks at the bouquet suspiciously.

“Maybe she just likes you and has a terrible way of showing it.” Her room mate shrugs.

“I seriously doubt that, maybe it’s a keep your enemies close sort of thing. Who knows what’s going on inside her head.” Still, as she says that, she can’t stop the warmth blooming in her chest. “I’m going to talk to her tomorrow.”

* * *

_THE NEXT MORNING_

Morgan tries to find her before her classes, to clear up the misunderstanding she caused but she couldn’t seem to find her. She sees a flash of strawberry blonde hair here and there but when she tries to follow, she immediately loses sight of her.

“She’s hiding from me.” Morgan comments over her burrito bowl, while having lunch with Zoey.

“Maybe she’s just busy?” Zoey cringes at her weak reply, even she didn't believe what just came out of her mouth. After the disaster yesterday all splashed over the T, she couldn't blame Poppy from hiding. 

“I saw her try to duck behind the hedges when I called her name.” Morgan deadpans.

“Try to ask Chloe, she’s always following her around like a lost puppy.”

“Nevermind. I just found her.” She catches sight of Poppy walking inside one of the nearby buildings. Morgan jumps up and sprints towards her. " _You’re not getting away from me this time"_ She mutters under her breath. When she enters though, she looks around but she sees no sign of Poppy anywhere. “Damn, I lost her again.” 

“Hi Morgan!” She almost jumps when someone suddenly spoke right next to her. A scream was stuck in her throat.

“Uhh… Do you need something?” Morgan questions the girl.

“T-This is for you.” The girl hands her a bear, she leaves immediately after handing it to her, offering no explanation. She looks down at the card attached.

**_Morgan,_ **

**_I’ll pick you up at 7pm tonight, be ready._ **

**_-P_ **

_Her again? Why can’t she just speak to me like a normal person._ “Ugh, can she even be more annoying?” She walks back to Zoey, and she does the unthinkable; she hugs the bear to her chest. _It smells like her...What am I doing?_

“So, you followed her and came back with that?” Zoey asks her, eyebrow raised. Morgan didn’t know what to say, she just blushes. The students milling about were starting to look in their direction, snapping a couple of photos, presumably for The T.

“Let’s go Zoey, I hate when people stare.”

“You’ve been hot topic from day one, get used to it.” Zoey chuckles and stands. They begin their trek to the dorms.

* * *

**POPPY POV**

She has been trying all morning to avoid Morgan and she’s sort of proud that she’s doing a good job at it.

Veronica texts her: _I heard you were avoiding Morgan. Wtf are you doing, you gay disaster???_

_I got it under control. Don’t worry. PS. I’m not a disaster, I do everything with grace and fyi I'm bi._ Poppy types out a response. 

_Yeah right. I’m more worried about Chloe, she might die from second hand embarrassment. Anyway, just go to her, you’re making it seem like you hate her with all your dodging._

_NO! Can’t show my face yet. I’ve got a plan, just watch and learn._

She receives another text from Taylor, her lackey. _It’s done, Poppy._ Attached was Morgan’s photo, hugging the bear with a small smile in her face. She smiles softly, staring at the photo. She forwards the photo to their group chat after realizing that she was staring at it for an inordinate amount of time. She captioned: SUCCESS! She can’t wait to rub it in Veronica’s face later.

She walks back to the Sorority House while typing up a new text to Morgan. _Hey, We’re still on at 7, right? –P_

_How did you even get my number? You’re such a creep._

_I have my ways. So? Is it a yes?_

_So, you just assumed I’ll go out with you? Why exactly are you doing this?_

_You’re pretty, I’m gorgeous. We’d look good together. What's there to think about?_

_If this is your demented way of flirting, think again. It’s a no for me._

_No one says no to me, Morgan, you’ll realize that sooner or later._

_Like I said; it’s creepy, Min-Sinclair. I’m not going._

“Where did I go wrong.” Poppy thumps her head on the table in confusion and irritation.


	3. Just Catch Me

They played an endless game of push and pull that went on for a week, Poppy is pushing and Morgan is pulling away. One time she gave her a rose, and without breaking eye contact she drops it in the trash and walks away. Another time, she buys her some imported pastries and she gives it away, without tasting it; asking loudly if anyone wanted a piece.

“Time is running out, Pop and we’re already in Plan K.” Veronica tries to rile her up, entertained by her disastrous plans. _What do you guys think? What strategy do you want our Queen to try next?_ _Vote below_! She posts a live stream, irritating Poppy further.

“Will you stop that.” Poppy grabs her phone and turns it off, she holds it over her head. Veronica looks at her amused, and easily grabs it without struggling. “You’re not that tall, you know?” She snickers.

Poppy flips her off, ignoring the joke about her height. “She’s playing hard to get. I thought it was cute before, now it’s just annoying.” 

“Maybe tone down the cockiness when you’re asking her out. Girls don’t like that.” Chloe comments.

“I’m not cocky!” Poppy was getting all defensive about it, she took a massive hit to her ego. She gets everybody she wanted, Morgan was just being too annoying.

“Whoa, chill. We’re just trying to help you out.” Veronica tries to placate her.

“Let’s just go with my plan okay.” 

“Well, 11th time is the charm.” That earns Veronica a punch on the arm from Poppy. “Ow! Now I’m beginning to feel sorry for Morgan.” Veronica distances herself from Poppy, before she can retaliate again.

* * *

“Morgan.” Poppy calls out to her when she finally spots her after class, walking back to her dorm.

Morgan stops and faces her, already feeling exasperated. She knows that voice, just when she thought she's getting a break. “Poppy, I swear to God, if this is another one of your bizarre games, I’m gonna lose it.” Poppy is treading on thin ice with her. 

“Please just listen. I’m sorry for being too presumptuous. I just really like you, okay? Give me a chance, please.” _So maybe Plan K is straight up begging._ Poppy reaches for her hands, relieved that Morgan lets her.

“Fine, if it doesn’t work out, you’ll leave me alone?” Morgan relents, already exhausted from the chase. 

“Oh, that’s it? You’re saying yes?” She didn’t expect that. “ Okay. I’ll text you when. Thank you, Morgan” She rises up a little on her tiptoes and kisses her cheeks. Poppy walks away, leaving her there, her hands coming up to touch her cheek.

* * *

“Sooo? Are we moving to Plan L? That one’s my favorite.” Veronica asks her when she sidles up to them after asking Morgan out again. The three of them start walking back to the Zeta house.

“No, I already have a date.” Poppy says smugly, she's feeling a little giddy at finally being successful.

“No way! You finally did it, I’m so proud that I might even cry. It was getting too painful to watch you fail.” Veronica was genuinely happy for her, her plans finally coming to fruition.

“Yeah, really painful.” Chloe cringes, remembering all her failed plans, most of it involving her and they're not pretty.

“No one asked you two. Now, help me plan a date.” 

“What? You don’t have a plan?” Veronica asks her in surprise. It was unlike Poppy to walk into a situation without a plan and several back ups.

“I didn’t plan this far, I was too focused on getting her to say yes.” Poppy was thinking an expensive restaurant date but she felt that it was a little too cliche. Morgan deserved something more.

“That’s just sad. But you know we’ll help you.” Veronica lays a hand on her shoulder, her other hand reaching for her phone for a consultation.

* * *

“Are you freaking serious?” Poppy asks in disbelief. She's not liking what she's hearing coming from her friends' mouths, not one bit.

“The amusement park is a good date spot, says so in google.” Chloe assures her.

“She’s right, I took a girl there once. She was all over me by the end of the day.” Veronica chimes in, her eyes glazing over at the memory.

“Please don’t share, V.” Chloe pipes up, Veronica had the tendency to over share her experiences vividly, without skipping any detail if no one stops her.

“But the germs and the people.” Poppy shudders. From what she's seen in movies and other stuff, it's a breeding ground for plenty of undesirable things. “Can’t we have dinner at an expensive restaurant instead or something normal?” She should have went with her instincts instead of consulting with her friends, maybe she could have avoided this suggestion.

“It’s Morgan we’re talking about, I bet she’s tired of all that pretentious stuff. Also because I asked Zoey, the amusement park is high up on Morgan's top 3 list.

“What are the other options?” Poppy prayed hard for something she could work with, but no such luck. Morgan's taste is definitely questionable. _Was it too late to back out?_

“Okay, you asked for it; The Zoo and fruit picking, I doubt you can handle that much physical activity and proximity to animals.” Veronica tells her amused, she knew her friend wouldn't like any of the choices and she mercifully picked the most tolerable activity for her.

“That’s it? Those are terrible first date options!”

“I told you so.”

“Fine, amusement park it is. I’ll text her now.”

* * *

_Are you free this Saturday? For our date, in case you forgot._

_Yep, what time?_

_Is 9 good for you? I’ll pick you up._

_Okay. See you then._

Poppy locks her phone, feeling nervous but she’ll be damned if she backs out now.


	4. Amusement

She can’t keep the smile from her face, she finally secured a date with Morgan! A week of continuous rejection hit her ego hard but it was worth it, at least she hoped so. She proceeds to clutter up her room, trying to find a suitable outfit for their date. She finally decides on one and she smiles, satisfied.

* * *

“You’re going out in that?” Veronica asks her as she rushes down the stairs for their date.

“I don’t have time for this, V. If I change one more time, I’ll be late and Morgan’s going to back out.” Poppy rushes out to her car, ignoring Veronica’s protests, sidestepping her when she tries to block her path.

“Wait! Poppy!” Chloe and Veronica yell after her. She waves them off and drives away.

“Seriously, where does she think they’re going? A country club?” Veronica sighs, frustrated. "I tried to stop her, she can't blame us."

“Don’t worry, V. Morgan will know what to do.” At least Chloe hoped.

* * *

Poppy arrived a quarter before 9, spending 10 minutes pacing and gathering up the courage to knock on Morgan’s door. _Why am I feeling so nervous?_ The door suddenly opens, startling her.

“What are you doing?” Morgan looks down at her suspiciously.

“I just got here.” 

“It’s a 5-minute drive from your dorm, you texted me, remember? You’re just standing around here for 15 minutes, why didn’t you knock?” Morgan raises an eyebrow at her suspicious actions.

“I-” Poppy couldn't come up with any reasons, she can't just admit to her date that she was nervous.

“Oh! Were you nervous about me?” Morgan smirks, grabbing her arm and pulling her inside. She hit that one right in the head. Poppy sweats a bit and her brain shuts down. Morgan leans in closer, when Poppy thought she was going to kiss her, she goes for her cheek instead.

“You- what?” 

Morgan decided to have mercy on her, backing away slightly. “So, where are we going? You said to dress casually.” She takes her in, confused as to why Poppy's dressed like that and covertly checking her out as well.

“The amusement park.” 

“Uh… But why are you- Wait here.” Morgan turns back to her room, finding something suitable for Poppy to wear. “As much as I love your miniskirts and heels, those are not for the amusement park.” She hands her a simpler getup. Poppy reddens slightly at the offhand comment. _So she does notice._

“I’ll never be caught wearing this.” Poppy snaps out of it and stares at the offered clothing, appalled. She holds it in arm’s length as if it will burn her.

“What’s wrong with that?” Morgan asks her, laughing inwardly. Of course Poppy never worn flannel before nor slightly ripped jeans, and now she will experience Morgan's farm house chic clothing first hand.

“Nothing. It’s just, I’ve never worn anything like this.” Poppy grimaces, she needed to choose her words carefully, she didn’t want to offend her. “I feel like I’m going to break out in hives.” What can she say? Habits.

“Just try it on.” Morgan rolls her eyes and leads her inside her room. After a few minutes, she still won’t come out. “Poppy, are you okay? Can I come in?” She knocks a few times and opens the door.

“Morgan, I don’t think-”

“Wow, you look cute.” She smiles at Poppy's slight blush. She's struggling with the length of her pants. “Let me.” She kneels down and cuffs her pants to her desired length and she smooths over her shirt. It suits her and as a bonus her pants are tight in all the right places, a blessing for Morgan’s eyes.

_She even makes this look like it’s fit for the runway. She really is something._ “Perfect. See for yourself.” Poppy steps up to the mirror and inspects herself, she spares a glance at Morgan, who’s subtly checking her out.

“Okay, let’s go.” _I hope there aren’t that many people around to see me wearing this or I’ll die, but I’ll kill Morgan first._

She hurriedly walks to her car, shielding her face with her hands. Morgan walks even slower, trying to annoy her. She quickly enters her car and honks at her.

* * *

“You listen to that?” Morgan teases her, Poppy is really living up to her expectations.

“If you keep criticizing my music choice, I’m going to throw you out.” 

“You invited me, remember? Besides I think you like me too much.”

“Ha!” Poppy couldn’t deny it, she was having a hard time formulating sentences around her. She stops talking, focusing on the road instead. She smiles when hears Morgan quietly humming the song and tapping her fingers against the car door along with the beat.

* * *

“This is not what I expected.” They stop at the daunting entrance; Poppy looks up at the towering rides with a slight fear. She glances at Morgan nervously, flinching when she hears the screams from the roller coaster.

“You know, you didn’t have to bring me here. We can still go somewhere else, if you like” Morgan senses her hesitation, as much as she’s amused, she can’t help but worry about her.

“I’m fine. Let’s just go.” Poppy walks ahead, she’ll never show any weakness. Morgan walks up to her and reaches for her hand, interlocking it with hers. Poppy looks down in surprise.

“What? This is a date isn’t it? Let’s do this right.” Morgan smiles and squeezes her hand gently, reassuring her. She's internally combusting, it was a little too forward of her to grab Poppy's hand.

“I know that.” Poppy looks away, but Morgan sees the blush creeping up her neck and feels her hand hold on to hers firmly. She smiles at her observation and makes no comment. _Ugh, she’s too cute, I’m in trouble._

“Where to first?” Poppy let's her date take the lead, after all she knows this place best.

“Oh! Bumper cars, for sure” Morgan excitedly pulls her along to the ride.

They fall in line. “So how do we do this?” Poppy feels some reluctance as she watches the cars drive around in chaos. She scrunches her nose at the electric smell, was that burning metal? She closes her eyes and silently curses Morgan.

“You drive around and collide with others, as many as you can. Simple right?” Morgan replies and beams at her.

“Seriously? I’m worried about you, if this is your idea of fun.” Poppy teases her, she looked calm but inside she’s screaming. _Who in the hell wanted to simulate a car crash?_

“Don’t think too hard. Just enjoy yourself.” Morgan squeezes her hands in assurance.

Poppy nods. _I seriously doubt that._

* * *

“You looked seriously frightening out there.” Morgan winces, remembering her date's maniacal laugh. She rubs the back of her neck, a little sore from Poppy hitting her too many times.

“Not my fault. How dare they hit me, don’t they know who I am?”

“That’s the point of the ride. You didn’t have to go all psycho about it.” Morgan quickly backtracks when Poppy frowns. _Ugh now she feels bad; she was just enjoying it_. She reaches for her hands and strokes it with her thumb. “I’m kidding. You looked hot.” Morgan winks, diffusing the awkward tension between them. Poppy laughs softly, a lot less terrifying this time, she can’t help but join in.

“You choose this time, Pop."

“How about that?” Poppy points to the carousel, a little embarrassed by her childish choice. Before she can take it back, Morgan drags her to the end of line.

“You’re not going to make fun of me?” She asks. When she thought of amusement parks she always imagined this ride. Since she’s never been on one, she was curious.

“Why would I?”

“Isn’t it childish?” She fiddles with the hems of her jeans.

“No, that’s why we’re here, to enjoy everything.” _Stop being adorable Poppy, I can’t take it._

Poppy can’t help but see Morgan in a different light. She feels warm, she looks at her softly. “When you’re outside Belvoire, you’re actually bearable.”

“Don’t ruin the moment.”Morgan grins.

* * *

“I’m hungry. Can we stop for lunch?” Morgan asks her, tugging at her hand to stop her from walking.

“We’ve only been on 4 rides, there’s a lot more to go to.”

“Pop, we don’t have to go to every ride now. Stop stressing, besides we can try the rest another time.”

“Wow, the date’s not even over yet and you’re practically begging me for a second one.” Poppy looks at her smugly.

Morgan can’t help but laugh in response. “Okay, I’ll give you that. But seriously, this is perfect. You’re thinking too much, don’t forget to enjoy it too. Let’s have lunch first and see where the rest of the day takes us.”

“You… surprisingly sound reasonable.”

“What are you talking about? I’m always reasonable.”

* * *

“Seriously? You’ve never had fast food before?” Morgan grins at her mischievously, mentally making a list of all her favorites for Poppy to try. “I’m glad to be the one to introduce you, I’m a fast food connoisseur.”

“I don’t feel safe.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. You’ll like it.” They find a table and she asks her what she wants.

“Butter seared lobster tail.” Poppy says with a straight face. She couldn’t keep it in, she laughs at her incredulous expression. “The look on your face! Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I’m at your mercy. I’m not well versed in commoner food.”

“Funny, I got it. Just sit here and I’ll order.”

She comes back with their lunch and was surprised at the guy chatting up Poppy, who leans away uncomfortably.

“This guy giving you trouble, Pop?” She glares daggers at the man, as she slams their food down firmly enough to make a noise, he looks up at her and grins.

“What? Can’t you see we’re busy here. Go find another table.” He says with an air of arrogance. She seethes, she clasps his shoulders with an iron grip, strong enough for him to yelp.

“Well, I think this conversation is over. Does it look like she wants to talk to you? Take your stupid over-gelled spiky hair and impale flies somewhere else.” Morgan grits her teeth and… was she feeling jealous? _“_ Go away before I rearrange your face.” _We settle arguments with fists in Farmsville._ She tightens her grip a little more, causing him to pathetically slink away.

Poppy looks at her, entertained and slow claps. “I couldn’t have done a better job myself.” _She’s hot when she’s pissed._ “Though, Morgan? I’m not some damsel in distress. I could have handled it myself” She says haughtily channeling the arrogance of Mr. Prick.

“I know; he should thank me, I saved him from you and I wouldn’t dream of calling you that.” She replies, handing over Poppy's meal. They ate in silence, except for the occasional soft moans of delight from Poppy which leaves her flushed. _She’s doing this on purpose, she knows exactly what she’s doing to me._

“What? Stop staring, I can’t enjoy my food.” Morgan reaches over and wipes the corner of her mouth, and absently licks it off her finger. Resuming her meal like nothing happened, while Poppy gapes at her.

* * *

They look around the assorted games, not looking forward to the rides immediately after their meal.

“Let’s try one.” Poppy excitedly pulls her towards the shooting game.

“You know these games are rigged, right?”

“We’ve got money to spare. Don’t be a sourpuss.” Poppy pays for a round, the man hands her a riffle. She lines up a shot, the best she could and proceeds to hit...none. “Another!” After losing for the sixth time, Morgan laughs at her frustrated expression. “You were right these games are rigged.” She tries to pull her away.

“Wait, I haven’t tried it yet.” Morgan pays for another round, smiling at Poppy’s smug expression. “Ha! I doubt you’ll hit any.”

“Maybe.” Morgan smirks and lines up her riffle, she shoots consecutively and hits all of the targets. She looks back at Poppy, whose mouth was hanging open. She saunters over, puts a finger under her chin and closes her mouth. She leans close and whispers to her ear; _“That’s how we do it in Farmsville.”_

She picks the biggest prize, a giant husky, she hands it over to Poppy. “Don’t say I never gave you anything.” The stuffed animal eclipses her, making Morgan laugh. She attempts to walk, but the gigantic dog was covering her face. “You look ridiculous. Let me carry it for you, let’s put it in the car.”

* * *

They ride the Ferris wheel last. A classic end to an awesome date. They viewed the city at the top. Poppy squeezes her hands tightly, making her look over and see her visibly tense.

“Are you afraid of heights? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m not. It’s just that it’s too open and the wind is making it creak. Why you like this death trap is beyond me.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, it’s safe and it’s just for a while anyway.” Morgan pulls her closer, putting her arms around her, feeling her shiver.

“Are you cold? I told you to bring the jacket I gave you.” Morgan immediately takes hers off and offers it to Poppy.

“It was hideous, as if wearing this isn’t torture enough.” She gestures to her outfit. “What about you?” She takes it uncertainly and eventually puts it on, making Morgan chuckle. “I run hot.”

She finally takes in the view, now that she feels warm, her jacket smells of Morgan's perfume which eases her and makes her feel safer, though the arms around her might have something to do with it.

After a few minutes she looks over at Morgan, noticing that she was unusually quiet. When she catches her staring, Morgan immediately looks away. Poppy's surprised by the tenderness Morgan's eyes reflected. No one ever looked at her like that, not even any of her exes, they were too caught up in the popularity brought on by being associated with her and with her not so much. She sensed Morgan was different from the start.

She cups her cheek, making Morgan face her. “Kiss me, Morgan”

Morgan swallowed hard, as she wipes her palms in her shorts. She leans in slowly, pausing just a breath away from her lips, giving Poppy a chance to back away. When she senses no hesitation, she finally captures her lips in hers, she closes her eyes, completely lost in the moment.

All she could register were the softness of her lips, pliant underneath hers and the smell of her perfume, making her feel light headed. Morgan traces Poppy's lips and runs her tongue over her bottom lip, asking for permission. She opens her mouth and gives in. Poppy grips the back of her head, bringing her impossibly closer and her manicured nails digging slightly at her waist. She relishes the small moans that Poppy makes and the sweetness of her lips. The sensation was simultaneously too much and she still couldn’t get enough. 

They only broke apart, when they needed air. Poppy looks up at her, eyes hooded. She promptly leans in for another kiss, this time it was softer and unhurried, they break apart again when someone clears their throat.

“Oh sorry!” Morgan quickly apologizes, Poppy was more irritated than apologetic. They realize that the ride’s already over, and the operator was staring them down, irritated that she had to deal with them. She pulls Poppy up and they make their way over to her car, hands intertwined and sneaking kisses along the way.

They drive back to campus in comfortable silence. Poppy’s hands resting over her thigh when she lets go of the stick shift. She parks in front of Morgan’s building, they stare at each other for a while, neither wanted the date to end yet.

“So…” She breaks the silence, looking at Poppy, who traces her lips with her eyes. She leans in and kisses her again and again, too reluctant to part. After one last lingering kiss, she finally pulls away, smiling. “I had a really good time, Pop. Thank you.”

“I told you so. We could have had more time if you weren’t playing hard to get.” She smiles at her, teasing.

“Don’t ruin the moment. Goodnight Pop.” She climbs out of the car and watches as Poppy drives away, she enters for the dorm once she loses sight of her.

She opens the door and sees Zoey waiting up for her, grinning. “Girl, spill.” She laughs, not knowing where to start. They stay up all night, chatting and watching movies, she was too pumped up to sleep.

Poppy was in a similar situation, Veronica and Chloe corners her and makes her spill the events of their date, they squeal at her tale. Making fun of her as she cuddles the stuffed animal Morgan won for her. She groans and buries her face in it, but she was smiling. She was so happy; too happy, in fact, she’d almost forgotten about the bet. Something heavy settles in her stomach. Was it guilt or a gut feeling? Something’s always bound to go wrong. 


	5. Falling

They text nonstop, about nothing and everything, sneaking off campus for coffee and late night dinners, anything just to spend time with each other. Poppy gets well acquainted with different fast food and diner meals, courtesy of Morgan.

They’re still at the ‘getting to know each other’ phase, keeping things on the down low, but the whole school practically knows they’re dating. They can see their glances and how they’re drawn to each other when they’re in the same vicinity.

They haven’t made it official yet, leaving their status up to everyone’s imagination. They wanted to keep it to themselves for a moment longer, content in their own little world. Everyone notices Poppy becoming more and more tolerable, no one ever questions it, but they internally thank Morgan for bringing about the change.

The Zetas are used to seeing her more around their house, having been caught sneaking in to see Poppy one too many times.

Veronica catches them one day, making out in the pantry. She opens the door and sighs. “Can I just get my cereal? You two are not as subtle as you think. I don’t get why you have to sneak in every time Morgan, you’re welcome to use the front door.”

They try to annoy Veronica more after that, making out in places where she’s going, behind doors, in her bed (particularly when Poppy’s pissed at her) and having her catch them.

“Please stop! Spare me. You two are adorable but nauseating. Get out of our faces, you’re traumatizing Chloe.” Veronica closes the door and leaves them, giggling.

* * *

Poppy tries things she’d never done for anyone before. She wanted to impress Morgan and surprise her. When she arrives after class, Poppy pulls her into the kitchen and asks her to sit in the island. “Close your eyes, I have a surprise for you.”

_What is that smell, is something burning?_ Before she could ask Poppy interrupts her.

“Okay, open.” Poppy faces her, a wide smile on her face and offers her a meal, _her last meal._ She sets it down in front of her, it was a weird assortment of fries and what was that, radioactive burger?

“I wanted to surprise you, I know you like fast food but I don’t want you to eat it all the time, so I learned how to cook.” Poppy was looking at her hopefully, glancing back and forth between Morgan's face and the food.

“Ah, it looks… delicious, Pop.” She didn’t have the heart to say that it looked terrible. She smiles uncertainly, a shadow behind Poppy catches her eye, Chloe shakes her head vehemently and mouths _‘NO’_. Morgan swallows the lump in her throat and looks back at Poppy. _But she’s so happy and proud of herself, how could I ever deny her of anything._ Chloe makes a cutting gesture at her throat and mouths; _‘Don’t, you’ll die’_.

Morgan takes a deep breath and against all the warning signs going off in her head, she bites into the food anyway, chew, chew, swallow. She did the routine until she finishes half. The burger patty was crunchy, she guessed from eggshells Poppy left in, the fries were a whole different circle of hell.

Poppy is looking at her tenderly and smiling softly. _It was worth it, just to see her smile_. She drinks her soda to push down the god awful taste, she flashes her a shaky smile as she tries to keep the food down.

“Was it okay? It took me half a day to cook that.” Poppy looks at her nervously, waiting for her verdict. Morgan finally has a chance to look around and sees the mess in the kitchen, the new cook books scattered around. _She really made an effort for me, how sweet._ She feels herself falling for her a little bit more.

“Of course, it was great. Thank you.” Morgan lies through her teeth. Just then Veronica walks in and grabs a forkful of whatever Morgan is eating.

“Hey V, don’t be rude, that’s not yours. Get your own-” Poppy was cut off mid sentence when Veronica hurriedly runs to the sink and promptly spits her mouthful of food.

“What the fuck Morgan! Are you trying to poison me?” Veronica tries to scrape the lingering taste off her tongue, grabbing some soda from the fridge and rinsing her mouth with it.

“What’s wrong?” Poppy looked confused, she looks at Morgan's poker face and she takes a bite of the food, promptly spitting it out as well. She faces her, a look of horror plastered across her face, she turns red and Morgan is just smiling sheepishly.

“What the hell Morgan, how can you eat that and tell me it tasted great. The fries were raw and soggy, even the burger was even raw in the middle and you ate it!” Poppy was exasperated and embarrassed.

“But you looked so happy, I didn’t want you to feel bad.”

“Spit it out, Morgan. You’re turning green.” Veronica and Chloe looks at her disgusted but impressed that she was able to keep it down. Poppy looks guiltily at her, she was worried. 

“I’m fine. Don’t feel bad, Pop. It’s the thought that counts.”

“You’re so stupid.” She says affectionately. She grabs her arm and leads her up her room, ignoring Veronica’s mock gagging.

“I’m so embarrassed. I can't believe you.” Poppy sits in her bed and covers her face with her hands.

“I told you, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” She tries to pull her hands away. “Come on, let me see your pretty face.” She tries to kiss her but Poppy’s hands push her head back. “Why?”

“Brush your teeth, I don’t want to taste it.” Morgan chuckles, but obeys her anyway.

“Good enough for you?” She pauses just a breath away.

“Passable.” Poppy closes the distance and smiles into the kiss.

“Don’t do that ever again. I could have killed you. What were you gonna do if Veronica didn’t taste it?” Poppy waits for her reply, eyes narrowed and scowling.

“I would have finished it?” She says in a small voice, worried that Poppy’s pissed at her.

“Seriously Morgan, I worry about you sometimes. Don’t be afraid to tell me something, just because you’re worried that I’ll be disappointed.” Poppy cups her cheek and looks directly in her eyes.

“Okay.”

“So stupid…” She kisses her, showing her that she was just joking.

* * *

Morgan asks her out one day, for an official second date.

“I was beginning to wonder when you’ll have the courage to ask me out.” She says smugly, as if she herself succeeded in her first try.

“I’m not the one who asked someone out multiple times in disastrous ways.” She chuckles remembering it fondly. “Remember the time you tried to ask me out for the 6th time, you startled me and I slipped and hit my head. Zoey had to take me to the hospital to get stitches.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“What about the time you, slipped a note and chocolates in what you thought was my table. I genuinely felt bad for Benji, he thought you were asking him out.”

“Morgan please, I told you not to bring that up.” Poppy shudders at the memory, she silences Morgan with a kiss.

Morgan's mind gets hazy and quickly she’s absorbed into the kiss. Hmmm. She hums happily.

“You were saying?”

“Huh?”

“So, where are we going?” Poppy asks her, she needs at least a day to coordinate her outfit so she won't have the mad scramble like last time.

“It’s a surprise. You’ll know when we get there.” Keeping a secret from Poppy was not a smart idea, she finds out later.

“If you’re not going to tell me, I’m not going to kiss you for a day.” Poppy threatens her weakly, unsure if she could even do that.

“As if you can resist.” To demonstrate Morgan moves closer to her, Poppy closes the distance instantly and when Morgan breaks away, Poppy follows her lips and pulls her back in. “See?”

“Fine. I’ll figure it out. _I’m very persuasive_.” Poppy leans forward, giving Morgan a generous view of her cleavage and gives her a smouldering look.

“Uhhhh.” Morgan's mind goes blank.

“My eyes are up here.” She chuckles as she grips her chin and tips it up so she could look at her eyes, pulling her closer. Morgan’s pupils are dilated; her blue eyes were glazed and a shade darker. _“Are you strong enough to resist?”_ She could feel Poppy's breath hot against her ear.

Morgan could only do the most sensible thing, she ran away. A few seconds more she’ll be under her spell and spill everything. “What- Morgan!” She sprints out of the room and hides out with Veronica and Chloe.

“Save me. Poppy’s killing me.” She squeezes herself in between the two desperately.

“What did you do this time?” Veronica asks her, amused.

“She’s seducing me for my secrets.”

“Disgusting. Go away.” Veronica scowls at her, and here she thought it was live stream worthy. There's absolutely no way that she'll scar her Veronicats like the way Morgan and Poppy scarred her.

“Morgan, seriously? You ran!” Poppy follows her in, making Veronica and Chloe stand and quickly exit the living room. There’s not enough bleach in the world to sanitize their eyes.

“Bye Morgan. Good luck.” Chloe waves a goodbye before she disappears upstairs.

_Sure leave her in the lion’s den. Traitors!_ “Hi Pop.” Morgan takes a deep breath, steeling herself. She had to resist.


	6. Sun Shower

“What kind of date does Poppy like? Morgan asks Veronica, while she’s sitting in the living room, waiting for Poppy to get ready for their shopping trip. She's having second thoughts about her plan. Was it enough for Poppy?

“Hmmm… I don’t know, she’s never been on a date outside of restaurants before. You don’t know the amount of convincing it took for her not to take you to an expensive restaurant, for your first date.” Veronica taps away on her phone, showing little interest.

"Thanks, but it doesn’t help me at all.” Morgan sighs defeated.

Veronica shrugs. “It’s trial and error when it comes to her. Have a little faith in yourself, Morgan. What do you have planned anyway?”

“Sorry, I can’t tell you, for your own sake. If she finds out that you know, even I can’t save you. She grimaces at Poppy’s persistence at figuring out any details about the date.

As if summoned, Poppy pauses at the top step, looking suspiciously at the two of them. “V, did she tell you?” Morgan gestures at Poppy, demonstrating her point.

“I didn’t, come on.” Morgan pulls her outside before she can delay them to interrogate her friend.

* * *

Morgan had been preparing for a perfect date for a few days, and in between checking multiple times and Poppy’s constant questioning, she managed to finish everything right on time. 

“Morgan, if you don’t stop pacing right now, I’m going to call her over here.” Zoey snaps at her, dizzy from her back and forth.

“No!” Morgan immediately halts, alarmed. “I’m so nervous. I may have to go over everything again.”

“I told you, it’s fine after you checked for the fifteenth time. The date’s not until tomorrow. Stop panicking and breathe.

“Listen Zo, there’s like the 40% chance she won’t and that worries me.” She sits unceremoniously on the couch, fiddling with her phone.

“It’s perfect and she’ll love it. Take it from me.” Zoey tries to reassure her.

* * *

She arrived at Poppy’s dorm earlier than anticipated. The look of surprise and confusion was plastered across her face. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy or anything, I’m still-” Morgan cuts her off with a kiss, silencing her protests.

“Hello to you too.” Morgan chuckles, holding her close.

“Did you change your mind? Because if you did, I’m going to strangle you. You made me wake up at this ungodly hour.” Poppy's voice was bordering on murderous, she raises her chin waiting for an answer.

“No, I just wanted to see if you’re ready.” Sensing the change in the air, she tries to placate her.

“I’m not done yet. You told me you’ll pick me up at 3.” Poppy was somewhat appeased by her response; a perplexed expression crosses her face. _Why is she acting odd?_

“You’re right. I’ll wait for you.”

“If you would just tell me where we’re going, I’ll be even quicker.” Poppy says expectantly.

“You’re being impossible.” Morgan smiles, pulling her inside. Poppy leans close and kisses her, taking her breath away. “Don’t distract me Pop. I’ve got plans, you know?” She takes a step back, careful not to be pulled back into her.

“Worth a shot.” Poppy smirks, her gaze burning as her index finger trails down her arms, painstakingly slow. She smiles suggestively, subtly gauging her reaction, suppressing a laugh at Morgan’s strangled groan.

_It’s going to be a long drive._

* * *

“You’re cutting it close. Now, come on, I’m on a time crunch.” Morgan grabs her hands before she can go back and change her outfit again. “Please, you’re flawless, any more and I’ll ascend to heaven.” Poppy blushes at the offhand comment, barely managing to grab her purse before Morgan pulls her outside.

“Why are you being weird, are you nervous? It’s not as if you haven’t kissed me yet.” Poppy grumbled, her voice betraying her slight annoyance.

“I want everything to be perfect for you.” Morgan bit her lower lip, a habit she does when she feels anxious.

She feels guilty for snapping at Morgan, she’s always taken aback by the care she shows her. Poppy's gaze softens, running her thumb over her lip, stopping her from nibbling on it. “Listen, you’re perfect, Morgan. You could take me shopping and I’ll be ecstatic.”

“But you like shopping.” Morgan sighs, nervousness fading little by little. “I’m sorry, I was tense.” She goes around and opens the door for her.

“We could have taken my car, your truck is atrocious.” Poppy mutters with distaste, lightening the mood significantly.

“What, can’t reach it?” Morgan playfully mocks her height; she steps back when Poppy almost elbows her in retribution. 

“I can, don’t make me kill you.” After she clumsily tries to climb up, she looks at her with narrowed eyes, daring her to say something against her.

Morgan throws her hands up in mock surrender. Closing the door after checking for any wayward body parts. She walks back to the driver side door.

“Why do you even have a monster truck?”

“I keep telling you. It’s a regular pick up, I had them customize the wheels so I’ll have an easier time driving around the farm, with all the mud and stuff.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

Poppy reaches over and fiddles with the radio. She gives up, finding nothing good, so she connects her phone and blasts Taylor Swift. Morgan smiles as she spares a quick glance over to see her sing along with her imaginary mic. Moments like this makes her heart go haywire, she loves it when she shows her a side she rarely lets anyone see. Her cheeks are starting to hurt from smiling too much.

Poppy points her invisible mic at her face. “No, I’m driving.” Morgan weakly protests.

“Please.” Poppy pouts at her. And…. she’s fucked, she’ll do anything for her. So, she sings along anyway. The way she beams at her makes it all worth it. “Your voice is beautiful, why are you hiding that from me?” Poppy questions her, a slight look of betrayal tinged her expression.

“You never asked.” She laughs and shakes her head. It doesn’t matter how silly they looked as they scream her songs from the top of their lungs.

* * *

They’re on the road for almost 2 hours now, she briefly peeks over at Poppy and sees her sleeping peacefully. “God, she’s too cute.” She says to herself as she drives even more carefully, so that she doesn’t disturb her.

They finally arrive at their destination. _Time check: 5:30am_. She backs her truck facing the beach, it’s still dark out, but she’s certain that this has the perfect view of the sunrise.

Morgan discovered this spot on her way to Belvoire, she remembered how she was so mesmerized by the sunrise that she just had to stop and look at it. That pit stop made her late for the freshman orientation and that’s when she unofficially met Poppy. She chuckles as she remembered the animosity of their first meeting and look at them now, she can hardly make it through the day without kissing her and it’s barely even a month.

She climbs out and slides open the truck bed cover, she prepared a mattress and lots of pillows, she checks if their breakfast survived the drive. After checking that everything’s ready, she wakes her up carefully, she learned the hard way how grumpy Poppy gets when she’s suddenly awakened.

“Pop, we’re here. Wake up.” She peppers kisses on her jaw, she’ll never get used to the way she smiles even before she’s awake.

“Where are we?” Poppy slurs, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“See for yourself.”

“I can’t see anything.” She climbs down but she stumbles, misjudging the height of Morgan’s truck, luckily she catches her. “Don’t you dare say anything.”

“You keep falling for-” She stops talking when Poppy kisses her.

Morgan leads her to the back of her truck, grinning at the look of surprise in her face. She grips her waist and lifts her up without preamble, this time it was really too tall for her to climb on her own. Poppy squeaks in surprise, glaring at her before sinking into the soft mattress. Morgan jumps in after her and rummages for their breakfast. She hands Poppy a blanket, some sandwiches and her hot choco. She quickly sneaks a photo of her all bundled up, it was just too adorable and she couldn’t resist. She quickly taps away and sets it as her lock screen photo, before Poppy notices.

They wait for the sunrise, in comfortable silence while Poppy lays her head on her chest, relishing the warmth that she radiates. Morgan wraps an arm around her shoulders, she lets her other hand rest gently on her waist, rubbing small circles and random patterns on her skin.

The sun peaked on the horizon, immersing the sky with shades of pink, burnt orange and lavender. Poppy couldn’t even begin to describe the beauty of the sunrise, soon they’re bathed in the sun’s warm golden rays. She squeezes her hand and looks up at Morgan. She flushes slightly, surprised to see her looking back at her tenderly.

“Why are you staring? You’re missing the sunrise.”

“I’m not missing anything. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Now, I can’t even take my eyes off you, your beauty surpasses it all.” Morgan whispers, almost reverently, taking her hands and kissing each of her knuckles. She couldn’t contain the amount of affection she has for Poppy, she lives for moments like this, the feeling of how their bodies fit perfectly together. She could drive hundreds of miles more, wake up at dawn and look at thousands more sunrises, for as long as she gets to hold her in her arms. Poppy's warm breath on her neck and the familiar weight upon her was comforting.

“Morgan… Don’t say things like that, you’re going to make me cry.” She sheds a few tears, too touched by her statement. No one ever made this kind of effort for her, made her feel special enough to drive for hours just for a sunrise they don’t even get to see because they’re too busy staring at you.

“I’m sorry Pop, please don’t cry.” She gently wipes the tears from her cheeks.

“Don’t you dare take it back.” A small smile tugs on the corner of her lips.

“I would never.”

* * *

“I rented a beach house here for us.” She mentions it as she’s busy gathering their things. The sun was way over the horizon by the time they could finally extract themselves from each other.

“But I didn’t bring anything. You never said that we’re going here.” She panics very, very slightly, almost dislocating Morgan’s shoulder from all her shaking.

“I got you. See?” She gestures to a bag full of her things, as she rolls her sore shoulder.

“When did you even have time to get these?” She questions her.

“I had Chloe prepare some of your things and I snuck some with me when I come over.”

“Creep.” She slaps her upper arms softly, in jest.

It started drizzling before they can leave for the beach house.

“This is charmeuse silk. It’s going to get ruined.” Poppy screeches in frustration, gesturing at her outfit.

“Wait in the car, I’ll come back for you.” Morgan runs for the beach house.

“Don’t make me wait long!” She yells after her, going back inside the car. The rain poured harder as she waited.

Her eyes were fixed to side mirror, looking to the direction Morgan ran to. After a few minutes, she sees someone almost being swept away by the wind, using a gigantic umbrella. She laughs at their stupidity. “Who the hell uses that? What an idiot.”

Her eyes widen when she glimpses at the person under. It was Morgan.

“Are you serious?!” She scoffs and folds her arms in her chest, she refuses to come out, offended that Morgan would even think of bringing that abomination for her.

She knocks at the passenger side window, gesturing for Poppy to come out. “Pop, come on. What’s wrong?”

“What the hell did you bring that? It’s embarrassing.” She glares at her, so Morgan lifts the umbrella up and opens her door.

“Come on, I’m cold.” She looked like a drenched cat, shivering slightly.

She reluctantly steps out, clutching her arm for support. She locks her truck and they walk together to the beach house.

People gawk at them, amused by the two of them jogging in the rain and using a gigantic beach umbrella. Morgan has her arms around her and she hides her face using her jacket, almost tripping them a couple of times.

* * *

“I’m impressed that you managed to get a decent beach house.” Poppy remarks as she looks around the house. “Is there only one bed?” She quirks an eyebrow, shooting her a salacious smirk.

“There are two.”

“Pity.”

Morgan clears her throat, her mind straying to different possibilities. “Anyway… Since it’s still raining. I’m going to change and cook us lunch first.”

“Can I help?”

“With changing? No. With cooking? Yeah, you can sit there and look beautiful.”

“I’m not completely useless, you know?”

“Fine. You can chop some vegetables.”

“Okay!” Poppy excitedly sits and grabs the knife.

“Okay, maybe use the smaller one.” She carefully extracts the knife from her and replaces it with the paring knife.

“I’m going to ignore that you just did that.”

* * *

The rain stopped around mid-noon. Poppy kept bothering her, excited to swim around and sun bathe.

“You take me to the beach and you just nap lazily on the couch.” She runs her hands in her hair while Morgan’s head is nestled on her lap.

“You keep doing that, it’s making me sleepy.” Poppy immediately stops her ministrations.

“Let’s go. _I’ll let you put sunscreen on me_.” She leans down and whispers the last part. Morgan suddenly sits up, a crooked smile on her face.

“Come on. What are you sitting around for?” She pulls her up and spins her in her arms, making her laugh.

“You only want me for my body.”

“No, I like your face too.” She inches away from her before she can retaliate.

“Just you wait.”

* * *

They walk down the beach after changing. They got their bathing suits underneath, Poppy smiles devilishly at her, making her sweat.

“Here, get my back.” She takes off her clothes, revealing her scantily clad body underneath, there’s more visible flesh than fabric. _Thank you, Chloe_. She tosses Morgan the sunscreen, but it just bounces off her outstretched hands. She saunters closer after seeing her dazed expression. “What’s wrong, Morgan? See something you like?”

Morgan gulps and turns away, picking up the discarded sunscreen. “You’re even more stunning than I imagined.” She says in a barely audible voice. Poppy's strawberry blonde hair was brilliant in the sun, she was radiant and gorgeous, she thanked whatever higher power there was for making Poppy and her luck for having her by her side. 

“So you imagine me a lot?” Now, she’s very entertained, Morgan was so fun to tease. When she doesn’t respond, she lessens her teasing. “I’m burning, my sunscreen please.”

“Right.” She tries her hardest not to stare, but Poppy looked like a goddess. She couldn’t help it.

“You know we’re dating right? You don’t have to avert your eyes each time.”

“I know that.”

“Then kiss me. I’m starting to get a little offended.”

She kisses the junction of her neck and her shoulder, before squeezing a generous amount of sunscreen and rubbing it on her back.

“Let me do you.” She smirks at the red dusting her cheeks, she grabs the bottle from her. “Well, aren’t we silent today?” Poppy starts to pull at her shirt, motioning for her to take it off.

Morgan stretches and removes her shirt overhead. It’s Poppy’s turn to be quiet, she takes in her toned body, she can’t believe she almost forgot about it. Without thinking she touches her muscles, amazed at the way it contracts at her touch. Morgan clears her throat, breaking through her daze.”

“Pop, do you mind?”

Poppy hums in appreciation. She takes her sweet time to slowly rub sunscreen on her, a convenient excuse as she loves running her hands all over her.

“I think that’s fine. Let’s go.”

A life guard intercepts them, she hated his guts instantly. The way his eyes were glued on Poppy’s figure pisses her off. _Why do they always get interrupted by unwanted strangers on their dates?_

Poppy on the other hand is absolutely delighted, she looks at Morgan’s scrunched up face, as she mutters several expletives under her breath. She’s guilty for her current state, who can blame her? She wanted her to be a little jealous.

Morgan was rigid, radiating her murderous aura as the oblivious man continued to smugly regale Poppy with his life saving abilities, trying hard to impress her. She’s counting several ways to maim him, when he intrudes on Poppy’s personal space.

“That’s it.” She approaches them, eye’s burning holes on his back. She grabs an unsuspecting Poppy, dips her and kisses her. “Get lost, can’t you see she’s taken?” She shoots him a poisonous glare, watching him scuttle away, tail tucked between his legs.

“As much as I love kissing you, what was that for?” Poppy asks her innocently, pretending to be unaware.

“Nothing. I don’t like him.” Morgan replied, tamping down her jealousy, her cool demeanor slowly coming back. Poppy kisses her, feeling slightly guilty for making her jealous.

“Don’t worry about him, you’re the only one I got eyes for.”

They swim in the ocean; Morgan’s cheerful visage comes back. They trudged back to their spot, exhausted but happy.

“Wait a sec.” She goes back to their house, fetching her a cold beverage. It was too hot and she was burning, even under the beach umbrella. Several minutes passed before she started looking for her. _What was taking her long?_ She cranes her neck looking at the direction of the beach house, she sees Morgan midway, holding their drinks, looking slightly uncomfortable. She looks slightly lower and sees a woman’s hand feeling up her biceps. 

Poppy quickly jumps up, irritated. “How dare you!” She runs towards them, she was focused, bee lining for Morgan, not even bothering to wear her slippers, ignoring the hot sand burning beneath her feet. She tears the woman’s hands off.

“Get lost, tramp.” Poppy glowers as she pulls Morgan along, not waiting for any response.

“Isn’t that a little rude, Pop?” She stops her, confused and slightly annoyed at her behavior.

“Why? Were you flirting with her? Well, sorry for interrupting. You can go back, I’m leaving.” Poppy turns back and walks away. Morgan grabs her arms and pulls her into an embrace.

“Were you jealous?” She smiles at the little scoff Poppy releases. Poppy did feel jealous, a whole lot, in fact she was ready to strangle the woman who laid her hands on her gir-. _“Oh. Wait.”_ She couldn’t believe she hadn’t asked Morgan to be exclusive. She knows they’re dating, and that made her feel a little justified for her actions. _She better do something about that and soon, with all these harpies, waiting to snatch Morgan the moment she rests her hold on her._

Morgan looks down, feeling Poppy stepping on her feet. “Why did you run barefoot?” She asks, oblivious of the chaos in Poppy’s mind.

“I was saving you.” Poppy kisses her jaw, a silent apology. “I think I’m done for today. I’m burning.”

“Hold this.” Morgan hands her the bottles she’s holding. She bends down and scoops her up and trudges towards the beach house.

“Put me down, Morgan. People are staring.” She weakly protests, shielding her face in case anyone they know sees them. She loops her other hand in her neck. They pass by the woman from before, they make a charged eye contact, she pulls Morgan closer and she smirks haughtily at her.

She sets her down in the porch and quickly runs down to the beach for their things. She stares after Morgan, prepared to shoo away anymore shameless women hovering over her. Karma really is a bitch, she turned out worse at being jealous.

* * *

She notices how silent Morgan was throughout dinner, she’s worried that she’s gone overboard with her jealousy and ruined their weekend. She held her gaze, with the intention of apologizing for her behavior. To her surprise, she was suddenly pulled closer, she watches her blue eyes darken with desire.

Poppy learns very quickly that Morgan was still feeling a little jealous from earlier, that her cool demeanor was just a veneer. Morgan settles her callously to straddle her lap. She kisses her, a trace of possessiveness laced with every kiss.

They were panting as they break apart. Morgan doesn’t give her much time to catch her breath, she gently leans Poppy's head down and recaptures her lips in another intoxicating kiss. She shifts her on top as she pulls her even closer, grasping at her hips, and trailing kisses at her neck, sucking at the skin below her ear. Morgan wanted to mark her, to make everybody know she’s taken. Her hands were creeping dangerously up her thigh, holding her still.

They break apart and she takes her in, her flushed skin, disheveled hair and her clothes in disarray was all her doing. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten over me.” Morgan apologizes, her voice a little hoarse, her mind still slightly hazy from their activities.

Poppy lowers her voice and in a husky voice she whispers. “If I knew jealousy does that to you, I would’ve made you jealous much sooner.”

“I hated the way he looked at you, like he was undressing you right in front of me.” She explains, disgruntled. She leans forward and rests her forehead on her shoulder. Poppy snakes her arms around her neck.

“Would undressing me make you feel better?” She teases, a second later her smirk falters and she gulps when Morgan looks up at her with a burning gaze, her eyes full of desire, instead of the blushing mess she’s used to.

“It would.”


	7. Girlfriends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (notes: it’s my first attempt at writing smut. sorry for the mistakes.)

_“It would.”_

Okay, she was only teasing but she couldn’t deny that she was turned on by her possessiveness. Poppy hadn’t thought this far ahead, she never thought she would get this far and so soon. The smoldering look Morgan gave her was enough to cloud her thoughts and make her legs feel like jelly. The tables are turned and now she’s become the blushing mess.

She yelps when Morgan suddenly stands up and scoops her up, she tightens the hold on her neck, her legs wrapped firmly around her waist. Morgan carried her purposefully, taking her back to the bedroom, all the while nipping at the column of her neck, sucking at her soft skin, giving her multiple hickeys. She surrenders to the feeling, tilting her neck back to give her the access she was seeking.

Morgan lets go and lays her gently into bed. She lays there looking up at her, she notices that her pupils are still blown. Morgan smiles hesitantly. “Is this okay?”

“Yes.” Poppy's voice comes out as a breathy whisper.

“Can I take this off?” Morgan asks again, she wanted her to be comfortable. She starts tugging at her clothes when she nods her approval, trailing her hands and lips agonizingly slow with every exposed skin she revealed. “Still good?”

“Stop asking, more kissing.” Poppy desperately pulls her closer, pushing her back in bed and straddles her, she was getting impatient. “You’re overdressed.” She pulls at her clothing, slipping her shirt off. 

They kiss desperately, a mess of tongue and teeth. Morgan unfastens her bra with one hand, leaning back and fully taking her in, she gulps at the sight of her, topless, Poppy started to slowly grind into her abdomen, she felt the warmth and slick wetness from her centre even through the fabric and god it’s the sexiest thing she’s ever seen, a goddess was with her, in her bed, she couldn’t believe her luck.

She flips them over so she’s on top. She wanted it to be all about Poppy, she wanted to please her and hear her scream her name in ecstasy. Poppy moans at the feel of warm lips wrapped around her breast, her hands rolling her nipples in another. she tangles her hands in her blonde locks, keeping her in place as she arches up overwhelmed as she felt her everywhere and nowhere at once, she wanted more. Her breathing becomes ragged, as Morgan trails open mouth kisses and occasional nips, in a line down from the valley of her breast to her stomach. She pauses, looking up at her and playing with the hem of her panties. “Pop, can I?” One last question, she wanted to be sure so she doesn’t regret anything later.

“Please, touch me.” Poppy rolls her hips, desperate for any contact, asking Morgan to take her and stop stalling. That’s all she needed, she pulls it off and tosses it god knows where. She hums appreciatively at the sight of Poppy’s glistening centre, she leans down and kissing up her inner thigh, deliberately slow and torturous. Taking everything in her not to ravish her quickly. “You can tell me when you want to stop.”

As much as she loved the care Morgan shows her, she’s getting frustrated. “Please Morgan, stop talking and don’t tease.” She whines impatiently and Morgan gives in, kissing her inner thigh one last time. Poppy moans and bucks up at the feel of her warm tongue finally caressing her wet folds, she grips her hair, almost painfully, pressing her head in place, her other hand digging deep crescents on her upper back. She slides a finger in her, joining her tongue in rhythm, slowly starting to push deeper then she adds another, thrusting in and out in a steady phase, she felt her walls clench tightly around her digits, she groans at the sensation. Poppy’s soft mewls become full-fledged moans.

She grips her hips with her other hand, settling her in place. She looks up and sees her eyes shut tight, biting her lower lip painfully. Her soft moans gradually pitched higher, until unintelligible expletives spilled from her mouth, she revolves between cussing her out and begging for more.

She sucked her clit and increased her phase, she could feel that she’s close, by the way her manicured nails scrape painfully in her upper back before alternating between pulling at her hair or clenching the sheets. Her moans became louder, more desperate. “Morgan- please-fuck” Her words came out in a strangled gasp.

She smiles into her, words slurred as she continues to draw tight circles with her tongue. “What do you want?”

“Please… I’m so close.” She answers, in between her pants and moans.

“Tell me what you want or I’ll stop.” Her voice coming out as a command, she wanted to hear her say it, she slows her ministrations as a warning.

“Please- I-I want to- cum- don’t stop.” She begged, squirming and almost tearing up at the lack of contact. She could barely finish her words; she couldn’t think clearly but she managed to string together a sentence, she was focused on reaching her release, she’s almost there, just a little more. “Please, Morgan.”

“Okay:” She mercifully increases her phase, a few seconds later she was almost there. “Let go, Pop.” She curls her fingers and sucks her clit at the same time, she could feel her arch up, her ankles dig into her back and her thighs squeeze her head, she continues her ministrations, helping her to ride out her climax.

Poppy shudders, squeezing her eyes tight as she screams Morgan’s name, her voice coming out hoarse and broken. She let her catch her breath before she pulls away completely from her. She looks at her masterpiece, she was stunning, skin flushed and sucking in deep breaths, as small tremors wrack her body. She holds her gaze, taking her fingers into her mouth and releasing it with a pop.

“I knew you’d taste good.” Morgan says with a smug smirk.

Poppy rolls her eyes and tugs her weakly into another kiss, groaning at the taste of herself in Morgan’s mouth. They kiss softly, taking their time. Morgan wraps her arms around her, spooning her. Poppy was spent, she was so, so, tired but she felt satisfied. _So this was what the fuss is about._

Her lids grew heavy and she can barely keep her eyes open, the last thing she sees was Morgan smiling down at her and kissing her forehead. “Good night Pop, thank you.”

* * *

She wakes up tangled with Morgan, her whole body ached deliciously from last night’s activities. Poppy carefully extracts herself from Morgan's arms and pads over to the bathroom to shower. She comes out fully dressed and sees the outcome of her manicured nails versus Morgan’s back. She wakes her up with kisses, telling her to go shower so she can tend to her back.

“Why are you dressed already?” She miserably asks her, Poppy responds with a laugh.

“I’m hungry. Go shower and cook me something.”

“So demanding, you were just begging me last night.” Morgan smirks at her before disappearing to the bathroom not bothering to look back to see her mouth hanging open.

They barely went out to the beach the next day, instead they spend the whole Sunday exploring each other, Poppy returning last night’s favor. They lazily nap and watch movies the rest of the day. Then came time to come home.

* * *

“Why are you pouting? Is the date not good enough?” Morgan asks her as she looks around the room checking everything before they leave.

“It was perfect. I don’t want to go home yet. I wish we can stay longer.” She stares longingly at her, she wanted Morgan all to herself a while longer.

“Maybe next time Pop, we’ve only got this weekend.” Morgan regretfully replies, kissing the lingering disappointment in Poppy’s face away. She loads their things back in the truck, saying goodbye to the beach and driving back to Belvoire.

“So much for not wanting the date to end yet.” Morgan chuckles as she sees Poppy head loll, she fell asleep as soon as she drives off the parking lot. She lowers the volume of the radio, letting her sleep peacefully.

The drive back to campus was smooth and the road was miraculously clear. She parks her truck close to the Zeta house and tries hopelessly to wake her up but she just groans and turns over in her seat. She unfastens her seat belt and scoops her up in a bridal carry, closing the door with her foot. She internally thanks her old self for the manual labor she did at the farm, making her strong enough to carry her and she seems to be doing this frequently around Poppy.

Morgan struggles to get the door open, almost dropping Poppy’s purse in the process. She decides to knock instead, waiting for a few seconds before Chloe opens the door, she quirks an eyebrow at the scene in front of her, Morgan shrugs and enters silently, careful not to jostle her.

She lays her in her bed, gently taking off her heels and her sweater and tucks her in. She kisses the corner of her lips, she turns back to leave but she was pulled back, she looks down at the hands holding her wrist.

“Stay.” Poppy quietly asks her.

“So you were awake this whole time?” Morgan lays beside her, she was exhausted and as soon as her back hits her soft bed, she too falls into a peaceful sleep. Poppy moves closer and cuddles her.

* * *

Morgan wakes up to kisses. Poppy hands her a box, she wasn’t even fully awake yet, her bleary eyes adjusting to the thing that’s shoved to her face. “What is that?” She grabs the slim box from her hand.

“Open it.” She expectantly looks at her.

“I told you, that you don’t have to buy me expensive things.” She kisses her cheek, thankful none the less for the gift.

“I know, but you’re worth it. Let me put it on for you.” Poppy takes the necklace and fastens it around her neck.

“It’s sweet. You want to be closer to my heart?” Morgan teases her, it wasn’t unusual for Poppy to shower her with gifts, no matter how much she dissuades her.

“So people know you’re mine.”

“Are you-”

“Yes, I’m asking you to be my girlfriend.” She asks with a small smile, anxiously waiting for a response. The only yes she gets is when Morgan tackle hugs her, she barely catches her, almost falling out of bed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

* * *

She stares at Poppy’s neck, a little guiltily. _Oh it looked bad, it’ll be a nightmare to hide that. Thank god she hasn’t noticed it yet._

Morgan comes down for breakfast first, smiling as she greets Chloe and Veronica a good morning.

“Well aren’t you unusually happy this morning? You got laid, didn’t you?” Veronica teases her. Her answer comes in after a few seconds later.

“Jesus Christ Poppy!” Veronica stares at her open mouthed.

“What?” She asks confused, all three of them staring down her neck. Chloe gestures at her neck and looks at her girlfriend’s guilty expression. “Morgan, you’re dead!” She runs down the hall to the bathroom, they hear a piercing screech a moment later as she looks at the hickeys marking every inch of her neck.

Morgan exits stealthily up back to her room before she comes back.

“I’m proud that you’re getting some but it’s disgusting. Get out of my sight.” Veronica banishes her, mock gagging.

She looks around for the perpetrator and catches her back disappearing into her room. Poppy follows her up, schooling her face into an angry scowl just to scare her. Don’t mistake her, she’s pissed but she couldn’t help but feel happy. Finally she has a girlfriend, well, a soon to be dead girlfriend.

* * *

She’s winds up wearing a scarf in a 35-degree weather until it all fades enough that she can hide it with makeup.


	8. Bet on Me

_She finally said it, the three words Poppy was waiting to hear._

* * *

**MC POV**

Morgan was on her way to see Poppy, she asked her to come to a movie night with Chloe and Veronica. She wanted to surprise her girlfriend by making cookies that she wouldn’t admit she liked. Dino-shaped peanut butter cookies, she swore that she’ll kill her when she told anyone but; Poppy Min-Sinclair is a nerd for dinosaurs, she could tell you the names of each one.

She discovered that when she took Poppy to a museum, the way her eyes lit up when they came to the natural history exhibit. To check she pretends to mistake a velociraptor fossil for another. The look of excitement as she tells Morgan the difference between the two was so worth it.

_“Just so you know.” Poppy clears her throat when she realized she’s coming off a little too excited, she pretends to be disinterested._

_“I knew it! You’re a dinosaur nerd. I can’t wait to tell V.” Morgan smiles at the look of indignation in Poppy’s face. Her smirk falters when she’s pushed back to the wall._

_“Don’t you dare say anything about it to anyone or I’ll sneak in your dorm and smother you with your own pillow.” She pins Morgan to the wall, making threats she’s not above doing._

_Poppy could really be scary when she tried to be. “I got it. It’s pretty cute though.” Morgan squirms helplessly under Poppy’s arms._

_“Promise me.” Poppy orders her._

_“Okay, okay, I get it. I won’t tell anyone, promise” Morgan tries to pacify her._

_She loosens her hold on Morgan’s shirt, smoothing over the creases she made. “That’s what I thought, seal it with a kiss.” Poppy waits expectantly, she steps up and pouts her lips._

_Morgan chuckles and kisses her enthusiastically. Poppy looks up her lashes, eyes full of warmth, softly intertwining their hands together. Morgan’s heart beats too loudly, her feelings for her bubbles up, she steps back looking wide eyed at her, jaw unhinged._

_“What’s wrong? I was just kidding about smothering you in your sleep.” Poppy stares at her puzzled._

_“I think, I love you.” Morgan says out of the blue, she searches her stunned face, a little apologetic. “Was it too soon? I’m sorry.” She apologized, fearing for the worst when Poppy makes no sound. “Say something, please. Did I ruin it?” She’s ready to pack her things and hide under a rock from the humiliation._

_“You love me?” Poppy repeats back, still haven’t absorbed anything from her confession._

_“Yes.”_

_“Say it again.”_

_“I love you.”_

_Poppy jumps up in joy, Morgan barely manages to catch her. “I think I’m in love with you too.” Poppy whispers in her ear. Morgan couldn’t keep herself from beaming. She spins her around, kissing her back. A security guard escorts them out of the museum, while Poppy threatens him for interrupting their moment._

She must look crazy, smiling all by herself at the memory. She couldn’t wait to see her and 6 hours were far too long. She imagined how Poppy's face lights up when she surprises her or when she showers her with compliments.

Her phone buzzes interrupting her thoughts, she clumsily juggles the stuff she was holding to free up her hand, she fishes her phone out of her pocket, thinking that it’s Poppy, and somehow it was, just not the way she expected it.

**_Good afternoon Thoroughbreds!_ **

****

**_Well everyone except Morgan. Queen Min-Sinclair sends her regards. Rest. In. Pieces. Morgan Hughes. We are so sorry for your loss, don’t cry too hard._ **

****

**_Kisses the T_ **

Her heart drops to her stomach and she stops in her tracks, halfway to Poppy’s sorority house, thinking twice before clicking play. The shot was shaky, as if the person filming was hiding behind the racks of clothes. They were facing away from the camera but she knows for sure it was Poppy with Veronica and Chloe, shopping at some high end boutique downtown. It must be from earlier because she’s wearing the same dress from this morning when Morgan left to go to class.

**_“Are you okay Pop? You seem pretty quiet.” Veronica asks her, resting her hands on her shoulder._ **

****

**_“Morgan said she loved me.”_ **

****

**_“Really? Damn, don’t you move fast?”_ ** **Veronica, digs through her pockets, handing Poppy her car keys. _“Here, I guess it’s a win-win for you.”_**

**_“When will you learn V? I play to win.”_ ** **She chuckles and accepts the car keys. “ _Don’t forget the other part of our deal.”_ **

****

**_“I didn’t.”_ **

**-The video cuts off-**

Her arms hang limply by her sides, she could hear her heart shatter, the rug pulled mercilessly beneath her. People begin staring at her, some with pity and some looked at her as if she deserved it, she couldn’t blame them, they were probably right. People start filming her as she throws away everything she’s holding in the nearby trash, her mascara was running and she didn’t care, her appearance was the last thing in her mind.

She runs back to her dorm, thankful that Zoey wasn’t there to see her fall apart. She locked herself in her room, feeling so devastated and manipulated, everything she’s come to know was all a lie, a bet over cars for the price of her heart

Zoey knocks on her door, voice full of concern, asking her if she wanted some company but she doesn’t want anyone save for the person who shattered her heart.

Her phone rings multiple times, she glances at it 50+ missed calls and texts from Poppy, Veronica, Chloe and Zoey. She deletes everything instantly and in her anger she throws her phone against the wall, shattering it into pieces. She didn’t want to be reminded of her. She clenches her pillow tightly, drenching it with her tears as she sobs uncontrollably.

* * *

Morgan wakes up to an insistent knocking on her door, she looks for her phone to check the time and it all comes rushing back to her, she was hoping it was all just a bad dream. Poppy calls for her outside, pleading to be let in. _And for what, to break her even more? To make her hope and take everything away suddenly?_ She doesn’t answer, she deserves none.

“Morgan let me in. please let me explain.” She covers her ears, tears started falling again.

“I’m seconds away from breaking this damn door down. Just talk to me please.” She kept knocking frantically. Morgan closes her eyes, she felt the walls closing in on her. She curls into a ball at the head of her bed, covering her ears as she tries to shut everything out.

“At least let me know if you’re okay. Please answer my calls, I’m worried about you.” 

The knocking abruptly stops, to her relief. She hears Zoey and Poppy’s muffled argument outside, the door slams shut and all that was left was silence.

* * *

**POPPY POV**

Poppy walks out of the girls dorm, tears streaming down her face. She wanted to hold her and tell her it was all just lies, that she didn’t bet on her but she couldn’t, it was true and all she got was silence. Morgan wouldn’t break up with her right? She asks herself, she couldn’t bear it if she did. Morgan was the only one she ever truly loved and there is no one she wanted more than her girlfriend.

She enters her room, the heavy weight of what she’s done dawns on her. She hated herself for hurting Morgan, she finally opens her phone to try and call her again, but it’s out of service. She opens the T, she sees the consequence of the bet, a video capturing Morgan’s reaction, the look of betrayal plastered on her face and the tears in her eyes. She’s won the bet, but she lost her and it was a price she wasn’t willing to pay.

Veronica and Chloe sneak in to check on her, they look in surprise when she jumped up, heading towards them, the full force of her anger was directed at Veronica.

“This is all your fault, you and your stupid bet!” Poppy grips the front of Veronica's shirt, spitting out each word for her face.

“Poppy stop! You’re hurting her.” Chloe tries to step in, to calm them both down.

“Don’t blame me Pop, if I didn’t do that would you have given Morgan a second glance? You would still be enemies, you never would have known her, let alone fall in love with her.” She understood her anger and she tried her best to make her see reason. Her heart breaks for her, she knows her well and this is the first time she lost grip of her emotions.

Poppy lets go of her Veronica’s shirt, anger replaced by heartbreak. “I lost her, I don’t know what to do. I love her so much.” She falls to her knees, body wracked with sobs. Her friends kneel down with her, enclosing her in a hug.

“Don’t worry, we can still get her back.” They try to reassure her, unable to do anything else, to be honest they don’t know what’s going to happen next. Speaking only comforting words as they console her. “We’re here for you.”

* * *

It’s been weeks and Morgan goes out of her way to avoid contact with her girlfriend- well their status up for debate. Poppy corners her one day on her way to class, she was distracted and didn’t notice Poppy closing in and pulling her into an empty room.

“Morgan. It’s been weeks. Can we talk?” Poppy nervously asks her, eyes red and puffy from her constant crying. She missed her she’s ready to do just about anything to be held in her arms.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” She’s feeling apprehensive trapped here with the person that broke her, she schools her face to a neutral expression.

“I know it looks bad but it’s just a misunderstanding.” Poppy heart breaks even more at the vacant look in her girlfriend’s eyes.

“Then tell me. Was it a lie?” Morgan asks her, scoffing when all she could do was open and close her mouth, unable to answer honestly. “I know it isn’t, so stop your excuses, I don’t want to hear any of them.” Morgan looks at her, eyes filled with sadness.

Poppy was silent, trying to gather her thoughts, now that she’s face to face with Morgan she couldn’t seem to say what she wanted to tell her.

“How could you bet on me, did you think I was easy? Just a little pawn in your games? And I was stupid enough to actually believe you actually liked me.” She laughs mirthlessly at the last part; her calm expression became clouded with anger.

“No- I love you Morgan.” Poppy desperately wanted her to know, to understand that she loved her beyond the stupid bet.

“I knew this would happen, I should have just listened to my head. Did I even really know you?” Morgan was in the brink of another breakdown, desperately trying to get a hold of her emotions, not wanting to be seen as weak in front of Poppy.

“I know you’re mad but hear me out. It’s started as a bet, but you have to believe me, what I feel for you is real, everything about us is real, I swear. I know I’m hard to love and you must feel-” Poppy was struggling to keep her tears at bay. She wasn’t explaining it right; her thoughts were scrambled. _This is not how I wanted it to go._

To her surprise Morgan continued to defend her, even from herself. “No. You were so good Pop. You weren’t perfect but you were the girl of my dreams and I couldn’t help myself, I fell for you. So don’t ever think for a second that you are hard to love because loving you was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done.” She interrupts her, she was angry but she couldn’t bear to hear how she’s looking down on herself, she still strongly cared for her even if Poppy hurt her.

“Will you stop loving me?” Poppy asks her in a small broken voice, she knows Morgan still loved her but there’s something about her words that screamed finality. 

“It doesn’t work like that; I don’t think I could ever stop.” Morgan sighs, fidgeting with the necklace her girlfriend gave her, a habit she does when she’s feeling anxious. Poppy was glad she didn’t take it off, giving her a little hope.

“Why does it sound final?”

“It isn’t. Give me space, I can’t reconcile the person I loved and the one standing right in front of me.”

“It’s still me, our feelings are still the same. I still love you and you love me right?”

“I do.”

“But?”

“I still feel deceived and hurt, I’m sorry Pop, please not right now.”

“Can you ever forgive me? I’ll do anything, please don’t break up with me.”

“Not yet Pop, just give me a little space.” With that she exits the room, leaving her all alone.


	9. Boom Crack

Poppy respected what Morgan asked of her, giving what she wanted, space. A cold and empty distance spanning like eternity, eating away at her. Well she didn’t really get it, does that entail full loss of contact or could she still try wooing her back? She sends her flowers as an apology, almost every other day. She sighs when Morgan redirects the delivery person back to her, the Zeta house never lacked fresh flowers from her failed attempts.

Everything changed in a flash and she was left reeling. They were so happy just weeks before and now she’s grief baking in the middle of the night, all alone surrounded only by her inedible creations. She missed Morgan undeniably, she tries to quell every urge to run back to her, to knock at her door and beg for something, anything, for a fleeting taste of her love. 

The silence was stifling as she fights back the stinging in her eyes. What was she even doing before Morgan? Everything seemed dull now, everything was stained with her touch that she couldn’t think of anything without her thoughts grazing her name, she felt like nothing without her. She chuckles about how Morgan would hate the direction her mind was taking her, they’d have a long talk about how she isn’t beholden to anyone and especially her, that she’s her own person, not to be defined by anyone.

“If she were here-” Poppy shakes her head, chasing her thoughts away. Every time her mind drifts it comes back to Morgan. If given a chance, she would redo everything a hundred times over just to bring her back. She knows that she messed up so bad and deserves this crushing weight of guilt in her shoulders. Sometimes at night, she wished for innocence, of never knowing the pain that will come her way but she changes her mind, she would have fallen for Morgan over and over again anyway. The pain was her only reminder that what they had was real, she knew love and now she becomes familiar with the pain of losing it.

Morgan still loved her, she still holds on to whatever sliver of hope there was, waiting for her patiently.

* * *

“You ready?” Veronica peaks her head, checking in. “Are you sure you’re okay, Pop? Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.” Veronica stares at her worriedly, she’s having second thoughts at her friend’s distracted look.

“I have to, V. I can’t hide from my responsibilities forever.” Poppy nudges her gently, she wasn’t even sure what Morgan’s reaction is going to be when she sees her out there. Will she look on with the same soft look reserved for her or will it be hate and disappointment? Either way she’s ready to face her, sort of.

To be honest, she would rather be anywhere but here. She used to love everybody’s eyes on her but now it feels empty, she needed the eyes of the person who matters to her the most.

In 5 minutes she’ll have to come out to the field, she waited for their cue, hidden in the shadows. She shields her eyes from the brightness, searching the bleachers end to end looking for any sign of her girlfriend.

“Hey, you got this.” Chloe snaps her out of her trance, shooting her a small encouraging smile. Poppy looks back and nods pretending that she wasn’t thinking about anything to do with Morgan.

**“For our halftime performance, give it up for Belvoire’s Dancing Queens!”**

The crowd goes wild at the announcement, lifting her spirit a little. Half of the crowd goes to the games just to watch them. Her smile falters, when she remembers that Morgan might be watching her from the sidelines as well.

Poppy narrowed her eyes at the glare of the sun, schooling her mouth into a beaming smile as she waves at the crowd chanting her name. She does the routine perfectly until she sees Morgan sitting at the top of the bleachers, gaze directed nowhere near her direction, she periodically looks to her right and smiles politely at what Prof. Kingsley was saying.

Her heart sinks, what she wasn’t prepared for was indifference. She couldn’t tear her gaze from Morgan, she still does the routine impeccably. Poppy carries on almost mechanically until she misjudges a step and her heels break, twisting her ankle

The ensuing chaos of the Zetas and the crowd makes her want to dig herself a hole and stay there. She grits her teeth, enduring the pain as she tries to stand. She winces and falls back down helplessly, she could already tell that it’s going to be bad.

The commotion draws Morgan ‘s gaze back down to Poppy, seeing her sitting on the grass surrounded by the Zetas. She immediately takes off, rushing down the steps and hurdles the barrier, coming to Poppy’s aid. She’s going to have a strict talk with Poppy about wearing high heels when dancing.

Morgan kneels on the turf, examining Poppy’s injured ankle. She grimaces as she presses a finger on her ankle, it’s already showing signs of swelling.

“I’m fine, I just need a compress. I’m used to this.” Poppy starts but stops talking immediately when Morgan shoots her glare in warning.

“Used to-?!” Morgan huffs, aggravated by her lack of concern. “I’ll take you to the infirmary.”

Poppy could only nod, it felt like forever since she last seen Morgan and she’ll take what she got even though the situation is less than ideal. Her heart flutters, Morgan still cared about her. She tightens her arms around her neck when Morgan lifts her easily, the routine was so familiar to her that the response is automatic. In her mind she thought they’d walk, she’d almost forgotten her penchant for lifting her. She flushes at the wolf whistles the crowd shoots them and the several thumbs up her friends shoot her behind Morgan’s back.

Poppy smiles a little, relishing Morgan’s warmth and the familiar smell of her perfume. She smiles wider when she hears her mutter under her breath. “ _I can’t believe she would even think to dance in high heels.”_

Morgan gently sets her down the clinic bed, leaving almost immediately to call for the nurse. She doesn’t come back to Poppy, instead she sits at the neighboring bed to give Poppy her privacy. She doesn’t know what to do, she feels weirdly protective of her and don’t know where they stand or if she even has the right to be worried.

Poppy frowns, thinking that she left her. The nurse examines her, tutting softly. She advises her to not put any pressure on it needlessly, rest, elevate and continuously ice it for a few days. Morgan sat outside, listening attentively to everything the nurse was saying.

Poppy looks in surprise that she waited. “I can walk.” Poppy bluffs.

Morgan stares at her expectantly, frowning at her persistence. She sees her grit her teeth, hiding that she’s in pain. “Stop being so stubborn, you’ll make it worse.” She knows her well enough to know that she’s too proud to ask for help even from her. She kneels down, expectantly waiting for Poppy to climb up. She carries her in piggy back. That makes Poppy smile, she used to tease Morgan about her hog calling video.

After a long walk, they arrive back at the Zetas in one piece. Poppy’s immediately surrounded by her friends the moment Morgan sets her down in the sofa in the living room. She backs away, walking to the kitchen preparing a cold compress, Veronica follows her a second later.

“Morgan.” Veronica starts, catching her attention.

Morgan turns on her heel, shooting Veronica a blank look. “What?” She asks before taking her gaze away, keeping herself busy with the compress.

"I saw what you did earlier. Thank you for taking care of Poppy.”

“Yeah. I still care about her, you know?”

“I know you’re still mad about the bet but you have to know that Poppy is deeply in love with you.” Morgan scoffs but otherwise stays silent so Veronica continued not wasting the opportunity. “It’s my fault, I started the bet. When I saw that Poppy was interested in you and tried to hide it, I thought it was a good idea at the time to challenge her. God knows she’s a disaster and would not make the move unless she’s pushed. You two have to talk about it and start fixing your relationship at some point.”

“Look V, I appreciate the concern but this isn’t the time nor place for this conversation.” Morgan pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She looks down at the ice slowly melting. “I know she loves me and I still love her too, but it isn’t about the bet. I trusted her, she had all that time to tell me about it, to lessen the blow. I could have understood it then. I had to find out through a gossip blog. Do you know how much it hurts to find out like an outsider along with the whole school? I felt so fucking stupid and played with.” Morgan raises her voice in frustration.

“Did she ever ask for the bet to be off?” She scoffs when Veronica flinches a little. “Speechless? I thought so, the fact that she waited for me to say ‘I love you’ to collect the prize is the crowning piece. You were all in on it and you all acted like my friends. So stop trying to make me feel better with all the wrong excuses.” Morgan hands over the compress to Veronica. “I’m leaving, give that to her, make sure she elevates her feet and stop putting pressure on it.” She walks through the doors, ignoring the calls for her.

Morgan was pacing in her room, thinking that she should have stayed a while to check on Poppy. Her hands itch to text her, to ask about her condition. She doesn’t have her number on the new phone but it’s useless, it’s ingrained in her memory. She stops herself before she reaches for it, damn her stupid pride. A text lit up her phone making her jump. 

**_She’s asking for you, Morgan. – Chloe_ **

****

**_Can you please check on her? She wouldn’t open the door. – Chloe_ **

****

**_How’d you even get my number? – Morgan_ **

****

**_That’s not important. Please just come. – Chloe_ **

****

**_I’m on my way. - Morgan_ **

****

She grabs her jacket and sprints to the Zeta house. God she’s so weak, one call and here she is, running back to her. She catches her breath before knocking on the door, Chloe immediately opens it and ushers her inside.

“What happened?” Morgan asks in between catching her breath, she’s halfway up the stairs in a second.

“She got mad at V for driving you away. She’s cooped up in the room for hours now, she hasn’t eaten anything since.” Chloe tells her worriedly glancing to Poppy’s door.

“I got it. Thanks, Chloe.” Morgan nods at her, waiting until she retreated to her room before knocking on Poppy’s door.

“Go away, Chloe. Leave me alone!” Poppy’s muffled shout was heard through the door. The sound of something hitting it startles Morgan, the sniffles that follow makes her feel bad for leaving.

“Hey open up, it’s me.” Morgan rests her forehead on the door, the sniffles stopped and there’s a muffled thud before the door is pulled open too quickly, making her fall forward. Her eyes widen as she stops, face inches away from Poppy’s. She pulls back hastily, regaining her balance.

Poppy throws her arms and wraps it around her neck, pulling her closer. “You came.” She leans away after a minute. Morgan roams her gaze over her, Poppy’s eyes were puffy. If the situation was different she would have laughed at her mascara running making her look like a raccoon. Poppy shifts and winces, Morgan looks down reminded of her injury from earlier.

“I told you not to put pressure on your foot.” Morgan glares at her.

“Sorry.” She shrinks, looking back at Morgan sheepishly.

“Let’s get you back to bed.” She guides her gently to bed a few feet away. She lays her down and puffs a few pillows to elevate her feet on. She turns back to go get her a compress but Poppy grips her wrist desperately.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t leave me.” Poppy begs her, voice almost cracking.

“I’ll be back, I’m just going to get you a compress and food.” Morgan shakes her head and loosens the grip on her wrist gently.

“You’re not leaving? You left earlier, I can’t follow you quick enough.” Poppy admitted.

“Don’t move unless you really have to.” Morgan sighs and leans down kissing her forehead. “I’ll come back. I’ll be quick.” She couldn’t resist Poppy when she looked so small and helpless. The smile Poppy graces her with makes her feel soft, she quickly heads downstairs.

The Zetas made themselves scarce this night, some off to the after game party and the others in their rooms. She quickly prepares what she needed and decided to get take out instead, Poppy’s too impatient to be able to wait out a home cooked meal.

She comes back within 5 minutes, only to see Poppy nodding off. “You came back.” Poppy slurs her words already on the brink of sleep.

“Yeah. I ordered food, you can nap for a while. I’ll wake you up when it gets here.” She sits beside her, running her hands in Poppy’s hair lulling her to sleep. She gets a make-up remover from her desk and proceeds to wipe off her smudged mascara. Her bare face looked so beautiful and serene, she couldn’t bare waking her up when the food arrived.

Morgan decided to let her sleep a little longer. The day was long and eventful, the rest was well deserved. She could always reheat the food for when she wakes up.

She lays down beside her, there’s a foot gap in between them. Like a magnet Poppy’s arms searches for her, sensing her warmth. She moves closer to snuggle but Morgan stops her, she scoots closer so Poppy won’t disturb her propped foot.

  
She was immediately encased in Poppy’s warmth and scent. She missed her, it made her almost forget why she was angry in the first place. She looked at Poppy’s face intently, tracing the perfect curve of her eyebrows to her soft lips. She could see the outcome of their parting, the dark circles in Poppy’s eyes were visible after she removed her make-up. She traces her cheek with her free hand. She could just lay here and forget everything that happened between them, but she something was holding her back.

She wakes up after an hour, unaware that she had fallen asleep as well. She carefully extracts herself from Poppy, who grumbled and reached out for her. She replaces the spot she left with her husky stuffed animal, a sacrifice the sleeping Poppy accepted. She leaves to reheat the food and brings it up to her room.

She wakes Poppy carefully. She blearily opens her eyes and winced in pain, the painkillers wore off in her sleep.

“Eat first then take a painkiller.” Morgan instructs her, slowly guiding her to her desk where she laid their take out.

“I love you.” Poppy mumbles almost incoherently, looking up at Morgan. She didn’t know where it came from but she won’t take it back.

Morgan stays silent.

“Are you staying the night?” Poppy hopefully asks her.

Morgan’s heart clenched painfully at how Poppy’s brown eyes swirled with sadness and her face fell instantly when she shook her head no.

“Okay.” Poppy knows their healing won’t be instant but she was still hoping for at least some sign after Morgan’s mixed signals.

“I’ll come back and check on you in the morning.” Poppy head snaps up and a smile immediately blooms in her face.

“I’ve got to go.” She needed a night to herself to regroup and decide what to do, she felt mixed feelings about Poppy. She felt her anger giving way to being protective of her.

“Can I hug you before you go?” Poppy asked, moving to stand.

“Okay.” She comes closer and opens her arms for her. Poppy lays her head in the crook of her neck, inhaling the soft scent of Morgan’s perfume. She’ll accept any sort of contact Morgan gave her.

“Good night Pop.” She kisses her cheeks goodbye. She doesn’t look back to see Poppy smiling fondly at her. She sat by the window watching as she walked away, moving back to bed when she disappeared around the corner.


	10. All Apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance, this is chaotic, I'll re-write it again another day.

**_FLASHBACK_ **

_“Are you okay Pop? You seem pretty quiet.” Veronica asks, concerned. It was unlike Poppy to be distracted when shopping, it was her distraction for everything. She squeezes her friend's shoulder. She bets this has something to do with Morgan._

_“Morgan said she loved me.” Poppy answers vacantly, her eyes were glazed over, as if she’s caught in a day dream. She couldn't help that her mind fleeted someplace else, to someone else._

_“Really? Damn, don’t you move fast?”_ Veronica, digs through her pockets, handing Poppy her car keys. _“Here, I guess it’s a win-win for you.” Veronica chuckles, excited for her friend. It went as planned, even if she feels a pang of regret for handing her baby over to Poppy._

_“When will you learn V? I play to win.”_ Poppy chuckles and accepts the offered car keys. “ _Don’t forget the other part of our deal.”_ She just couldn’t wait to fill Veronica’s live streams with her girlfriend’s face.

_“I didn’t.” Veronica shakes her head. She’s got a bad feeling about this. RIP her live stream._

_Here, take my photo, just to remind you that I always win. Poppy poses with a megawatt smile as she's holding the keys. She hums in approval, she looked gorgeous as always. “Catch.” Poppy tosses Veronica her keys back._

_“You won’t take it?” Veronica catches the keys, feeling confused._

_“No, I already won, I’ve got Morgan.”_

_“You’re so disgusting. You know I hate mushy stuff like that." Veronica scrunches her nose and shoves her gently. Anyway, when are you going to tell her about the bet?”_

_“I don’t know, it never feels like the right time.”_

_“Maybe there’s never a right time. Rip it out like a band aid, the longer you wait the harder it will be.” Veronica could feel that Poppy is torn about it. “Look, you’re worrying over nothing. Morgan will understand, she’s already head over heels for you.” Veronica tries to assure her friend. All the hours they spent practicing her confession would be wasted if she didn't girl up and just get it over and done._

_Their phones buzzed simultaneously but it went unnoticed. They were too preoccupied with Poppy’s predicament._

_“I just… What if something goes wrong? I don’t know what to do.” Poppy nibbles her lips, thinking of the numerous outcomes, most of them ending disastrously._

_“Oh no… Poppy!” Chloe interrupts. Her mouth hanging open in shock. Both of her friends’ gazes instantly snap to her._

_“What could be so important?” Veronica asks and grabs Chloe’s phone from her slack hands._

_“Holy shit!” Veronica read the post and she knows someone took their video, she immediately looks behind them but the person who took the video is long gone. She could tell that it's going to end badly, Morgan wasn't supposed to find out this way._

_“What’s wrong?” Poppy reaches for Chloe's phone but before she can, she’s hurriedly dragged back to her car by her frantic friends. “What’s happening?”_

_“We have no time, just open it in the car, we have to find Morgan.” Veronica tells her in a slightly panicked tone._

_Poppy could feel her heart drop. Did something bad happen to Morgan? She lets Veronica take the wheel and she sits in the passenger seat. She unlocks her phone and open’s The T’s new post._

* * *

**_Good afternoon Thoroughbreds!_ **

****

**_Well everyone except Morgan. Queen Min-Sinclair sends her regards. Rest. In. Pieces. Morgan Hughes. We are so sorry for your loss, don’t cry too hard._ **

****

_**Kisses the T**  
  
_

* * *

_“Oh God.” Poppy drops her phone in her lap. The video was conveniently cut on purpose just to hurt Morgan. It looks bad, she could only hope that Morgan still hasn’t seen it so she could have the chance to explain. She snaps out of her daze and quickly dials her girlfriend._

_“Come on. Pick up!” Poppy desperately calls over and over but she gets no answer. She must have left 30 missed calls for Morgan. Her tears began to fall as she drums her fingers anxiously. She shouldn't have gone to this shopping trip, this shouldn't have happened. She exits the car before it comes to a complete stop in front of Morgan’s dorm building. She ran, but it’s too late, Morgan has already seen it in the half hour it took for her to arrive._

_**END** _

* * *

Turns out that Poppy is a pain in the ass when she’s sick, to no one’s surprise. Her friends were seconds away from strangling her in annoyance, milliseconds away from burning all her high heels because she said she felt naked not wearing one. Morgan was the only one who outlasted her fits, she had the patience of a saint, everyone was relieved and absolutely thankful when she took over for them.

* * *

She could just forgive Poppy to make things easier, but things are complicated, at least in her mind it is. Was she willing to make it work? Maybe.

For the next few days she finds herself holed up in Poppy’s room. Was it even healthy to be stuck with the source of her heart ache?

They were sitting beside each other in bed, their close proximity doesn't go unnoticed but both pretended that they’re unaware. Morgan made no move to put some space between them, being this close to Poppy is distracting but she doesn't let it show. They’re doing different things in comfortable silence. Poppy scrolls through her socials, looking adorable in one Morgan's well-worn hoodie, sporting her highschool logo. Morgan was trying to read a book but she's stuck re-reading the same sentence over and over for the past ten minutes.

“Morgan?” Poppy’s voice snaps her out of her thoughts.

“What do you need? Don't move, I'll get it for you." Morgan asks, when she shakes her head she instead look over for any sign of discomfort.

“No, I want to talk about us.” Poppy knows it’s the only way she could speak to Morgan, while she’s still around her willingly. She props her elbows up on her pillows.

“Right now? I don’t know…” Morgan pushed her back off the headboard. She was caught off guard and momentarily considered walking away before Poppy can corner her. She's starting to feel claustrophobic from just being in the room. After spending a couple of days with Poppy, she’s still feels a prick of bitterness about what happened between them but she was getting used to not speaking about it, everything was fine this way. Why did she have to bring it up?

Morgan deserved a sincere apology, maybe it’s enough to kick start the slow process of fixing their relationship. “It’s okay if you’re not ready, I just think it’s a good time to clear things up.” She’s thankful for Morgan spending the last few days with her but she’s getting exhausted with holding up the pretense that everything was fine between them.

“Okay, fine.” Morgan agrees begrudgingly, opting to sit rigidly at the edge of Poppy’s bed. She takes a deep breath, collecting herself for a quick second.

“Right.” Poppy sits properly, it’d be weird lying down in bed when they’re talking about this. She starts to recount everything before she loses nerve. 

“I know I might sound repetitive but I want to erase every doubt in your mind. Everything is genuine from our first date, everything I told you, every kiss, every moment we spent with each other and my love for you, it's all real.” Poppy pauses, fidgeting with the sheets. “I had every intention of telling you about the bet and when I finally figured out what to tell you, I couldn't seem to find the right time. I kept delaying it, mostly because I wasn’t ready for the outcome and I know for sure that you'll be hurt.”

“I don't get it. You knew you would hurt me either way. I would have preferred it if it came from you not from other people. You should have just come clean to me early on." Morgan tries to keep her wits and be calm. “Did you really intend for me to find out or are you only saying it now because it already came out?” 

“You didn't deserve to find out that way. The T- it really wasn’t what it looked like, they made everything look worse than it really is. Really Morgan, it wasn’t my intention. I chose you Morgan, not the bet, I don’t care about any of that. Please believe me.” Poppy winces as she scoots over to reach her girlfriend. Here she goes again with her scrambled thoughts, making everything worse.

“I have bad experiences with people lying to me. I- I have really bad trust issues and some part of me still haven’t recovered from that. It hurts so much being toyed with, like I’m some kind of object to be used as a collateral. That knowledge has been eating me alive every single day. Everything you touched felt like a sham and the line separating what I thought I knew was real became blurred and even I can’t trust myself to be sure of the truth.” Morgan takes in a shaky breath and she feels Poppy reach out for her hands. She looked back and stared at Poppy’s eyes, the same warm eyes that mesmerized her from the beginning.

There’s still so much that was left unsaid between them, everything went by and gotten serious real quick. There wasn’t much time to unpack each other’s past and baggage. She wondered if she rushed into this with Poppy or was she even in the right head space for a relationship right now?

“That experience dredged up bad memories for me and as much as I want to trust you, I don’t know if- Is there something else you’re keeping from me? Will I find out anything later?" This time Morgan stands up and averts her eyes away from Poppy. She needed separation so she could say what she wanted clearly without being pulled into Poppy's gravity.

“Don’t leave. There’s nothing else, that's it, I made bad decisions and I'm sorry for hurting you.” Poppy feels a pang of hurt and embarrassment for making her girlfriend feel like she's used. She tries to stand but Morgan stops her with a glare.

“I’m not leaving. I just can’t think clearly with you in front of me. Can you be completely honest with me? Tell me everything.” Morgan started pacing in the middle of the room, a clear sign that she’s overthinking things. She’s willing to give her the chance to give her side of the story, it was only fair.

“Veronica assumed that I’d be interested in you, which wasn’t wrong but I didn’t want her to be smug about it so I denied it. You know how she gets when she wanted to be proven right. She gets the stupid idea to make the bet with me and I was stupid enough to accept the challenge.” Poppy spares no details, she hoped Morgan could see how she's being honest.

“What was the bet about?” Morgan squeezes her eyes shut. The bet wouldn't leave her mind and there are countless things she thought it could be. Was it about sleeping with her or something worse?

“To make you fall in love with me in a month.” Poppy cringes at the admission, it sounded worse when she said it out loud. She hasn’t forgiven herself, how could Morgan? She breathes deeply, prepared for the consequence. “It was a dumb decision that I regret every day. If I could take it back, you know I would.” 

She wanted the cold, harsh truth and she got it. It was a lot worse than she imagined. “We can’t turn back time and you’ve obviously won that one.” Some part of her was relieved that Poppy’s being open and honest with her, the other half was pissed off.

“Winning doesn’t matter when I’ve lost you.” Poppy’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “I wanted to win at first, before I really knew you. Then I realized my motivation didn't have to do anything with the bet, I’ve fallen in love with you, hard. I wanted you not for the reason I had in the beginning. I wasn't the same person I was when I made the bet, please understand that. Tell me what I could do for you to forgive me, I can fix it, anything. Losing you is not an option for me.”

Morgan's eyes prickled, she felt a different type of pain at hearing the defeat and desperation in Poppy's voice. They stayed silent for a while, Morgan's anger fizzled then faded slowly until all she could feel was exhaustion.

“I can fix it, please. I can make it right. Give me a second chance.” Poppy’s voice pleading frantically.

Morgan relents, this was a battle she was losing from the start. She sits beside her in bed and wastes no time wrapping Poppy in her arms, she waits for her to calm down, whispering reassuring words to her. 

“You don’t have to do anything. I’m sorry Pop, I’m such an idiot. We'll work on it, I’ll try harder.” Morgan breaks the silence. “I was insensitive, I was so caught up in everything, I forgot to ask you how you feel. I know it hasn’t been easy for you either.” No matter how much she’s hurt, she can’t bear to see Poppy like this. It overpowered everything she's feeling.

Poppy takes a sharp intake of breath and looks up at her, hopefully. "You forgive me?"

"I do but I don't know if I trust you, at least not yet. I still have to work on it. Can we start again and take things slow?” Morgan’s expression twists into a rueful smile, she couldn't rush it, there’s still a.part of her that's second guessing this decision.

"I'll take it. I'll earn your trust again." Poppy whispers, her arms still wrapped around Morgan. It stings that she lost Morgan's trust.

Morgan offers her a small smile as she wipes Poppy's tears away. "I'm sorry, I was stubborn and I kept making you cry."

"You're not stubborn, I deserved it. I should have been honest with you from the start. It was hard being without you, I missed you so much" Poppy clings even harder, burrowing her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"I missed you too." Morgan’s arms squeezed Poppy even tighter. "Look at us solving problems like real adults."

Poppy lets out a watery laugh, feeling the sheer relief of knowing that Morgan forgave her and they were beginning to be okay. Now she just had to work on Morgan trusting her again. “Can I have your new number?”

“I thought you’d have it figured out by now, Chloe did.” Morgan shoots her a questioning look. Poppy never had trouble finding things she wanted.

“I want you to give it to me, voluntarily this time. We’re starting over, remember?”

“Fine, I’ll call you.”

“You still have my number?”

“I have it ingrained in my brain. You made me memorize it and in your words: ‘what if you lost your phone and you have to text me in case of an emergency.’”

“What? It was a valid scenario. It worked didn’t it?” Poppy enters Morgan’s new number in her contacts with a small smile. 

“I know we’re still working on things but will you stay tonight?” Poppy asks hopefully. She swallows thickly, it was too late to take it back.

“Okay.” Morgan smiles, which Poppy returns readily. “I have to go get some of my things first.”

“Don’t worry about it, there’s still some of your clothes left here.” She omits the fact that most of it was taken without permission.

* * *

Morgan pads over to the kitchen because Poppy was craving a milkshake. Veronica is checking her socials, from her place in the counter, the usual. She makes everything in relative silence, she makes an extra glass for Veronica.

“Hey. I’m sorry, V. I was really harsh on you the last time.” Morgan slides the glass to Veronica as a peace offering. When Veronica makes no sound, she frowns and makes a move to leave.

“I take it that you two made up?” Veronica asks, looking over her phone.

“Yeah. We did.”

“I accept your apology, it’s technically my fault anyway. I’m sorry too, sometimes I make really bad decisions.”

“Sometimes?” Morgan chuckles softly.

“Don’t push it.”

“We’re okay?” Morgan asks just to be sure.

“Yeah, just don’t regale me with details of your bedroom life and stop Poppy from sharing her mushy thoughts about you.” Veronica shoots her a crooked smile and directs her attention back to her socials. "Leave. Scurry back to Poppy, I don’t want to be subjected to her fury for keeping you a minute longer." She says without looking up from her phone.


	11. It will come back

Morgan laid awake for a few hours, her eyes were closed but her mind is far from asleep. She could feel the warmth Poppy radiated beside her, it was comforting and at the same time caused her to be painfully aware of every little thing, of Poppy’s breathing, the smell of her shampoo, the slight rustling of sheets when she shifts in bed. She spent the time they were apart staying up all night, though not by choice, just like this night. She marveled at how her relationship has improved and yet her routine stayed the same.

“I know you’re still awake. What’s on your mind? Morgan asks softly, breaking the comforting silence that enveloped them, breaking what little safety silence offered them both. She trails her hands down Poppy’s arm to hold her hand.

Poppy cracks one eye open. Morgan studies her features in the dark and sees the faint beginnings of a smile. Poppy’s gaze lowers down to her girlfriend’s neck. She’s stays quiet for a minute, long enough that Morgan could swear she’d fallen asleep.

“You. Us. Everything that happened today, I guess.” Poppy breathes out, her hand freeing itself from Morgan’s hold and reaches out to toy with Morgan’s necklace absentmindedly.

“You too, huh?” Morgan whispers into the darkness. She rubs her stinging eyes and scoots closer to Poppy.

“Can I tell you something?” Poppy smiles softly.

“Sure.” Morgan attempts to lift herself up to a sitting position but Poppy has other ideas. She closes their distance and lays half her body over her girlfriend’s.

“When I first saw you… I was finding something, anything to deny Veronica’s insistence that I have the hots for you. I don’t know why I brought it up but I was just thinking about it."

“What did you find? Was it my healthy obsession with henleys and flannels?” Morgan chuckles, explains why Poppy was too passionate about their first argument in the quad.

“Yeah, what a combination. Only that and not much else.” Poppy smiles. “You did look like my type and when you argued with me the whole time, I think I liked you even more. I should really thank V for pushing me to you but don't tell her, she's got a big enough head.”

"I'll keep your secret though I didn't argue the whole time. You may recall, I did tell you that you were pretty.” Morgan reminds her, thinking back to their first meeting.

Poppy laughs. “That was a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one. Are you forgetting the rest of your sentence? You said; _for being the daughter of Satan, you sure are pretty._ ” Poppy does her best imitation of Morgan’s sickly sweet Midwestern accent.

“Did I say that? I don’t remember.” Morgan chuckles, eyes pleading innocence. She does remember, all too well. Poppy wasn’t pretty, that would be an injustice. She was beautiful, stunning whatever flattering words she could think of but pretty was an understatement. At the time, she couldn’t let that attraction show, the girl would have eaten her alive. She remembered her tuning out every 2 seconds, finding herself staring at Poppy’s face, it was nice to look at when you tune out the insults. Her brain was having trouble matching her angelic face against the venomous words, her blank look must have angered Poppy even more, looking back.

“Don’t pretend. Let’s be honest Morgan if you were like any of these obedient lambs this school have, I wouldn’t even bat my eyelash at you. You were challenging and therefore interesting.”

“Can I be honest this time? You suck at imitating accents.” Before Poppy could adjust her position and glare, she could hear Morgan trying to suppress her laugh. “Kidding, I knew we’d end up killing each other or end up in each other’s bed. Though you thoroughly confused me with your asking out ‘ _skills’._ Others were sweet considering most of your other ideas, I could swear you were out for my blood. Where’d you even learn that, were you raised by wolves?”

“Not wolves, just Veronica. I should have just listened to Chloe, her suggestions were more plausible, I don’t listen to sensible things out of habit.”

“Make sense, your other ideas were out of this world. Like the one where you attempted to kidnap me right in the middle of the shopping district, you gave several people a heart attack. I had to give a speech that I wasn’t being kidnapped and that I know you.”

“Not one of my brightest, I can’t blame anyone for that. But it was fun at least until the police were called.” Poppy shudders at the feeling of being confined to a cheap plastic chair for half an hour until an exasperated officer lead her out to freedom. She could vividly remember Morgan’s expression flash between being pissed and amused.

“All of your attempts were a new level of bizarre and ungraceful, which was weird because you were anything but that. I am very fortunate that you chose to me to be the receiving end of your efforts. They were not in vain, they always made me laugh.”

“I did get you to go out with me right, so it worked. Get off your high horse, you were thoroughly flattered.”

“Thoroughly embarrassed maybe, I admire your tenacity though you didn’t have to do most of the things you did. You just have to ask me face to face, no gimmicks.”

“But I did! Remember? The one with the flowers?” Poppy points out, looking a little offended at Morgan’s words.

“I thought you were going to kill me! You jumped out like a maniac from under my bed, in the dark. You just argued with me earlier that morning and after people’s cautionary tales about you, you can’t blame me for having the wrong idea.” Morgan attempts to shoot her an incredulous look but given their position it was useless.

“But I gave you flowers, isn’t that romantic?”

“Just a few would have been nice, you didn’t have to flood my room. I still find a petal here and there for weeks after. I can't even begin to think how much you must have spent for that.” Morgan sighs and smiles softly. “If I knew what I know now, I might have said yes then.”

“Stop with the flattery. You just crushed my ego into smithereens.” Poppy could feel the quick rise of a blush in her neck. She never thought what her attempts were like in Morgan’s perspective and she was absolutely mortified. She regrets ever starting this topic.

“I should have said yes, just to stop the increasing insanity that followed. You don’t have to be embarrassed, I don’t fear for my life now, we can laugh about it. It was fun seeing you out of your element”

“You can laugh but I consider that the bane of my existence. Wait, what about the time I gave you the bear. I did ask you out like a normal person.”

“I was actively looking for you all morning and you kept hiding from me. Don’t think I didn’t see you jumping into the shrubbery that one time or using one of the professors as your human shield. You’re neither slick nor subtle. And you didn't ask! You just assumed I'll go out with you.”

“You can never repeat that to anyone!”

“Oh, come on! They made really funny stories, makes me fun to have at parties.” Poppy takes her revenge by biting on Morgan’s collar bone. “Ow!”

“No stories. It was embarrassing enough having witnesses to several of my plots, you don’t have to feed the fire.”

“Okay, fine but only if you’re there to stop me.”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight starting now. Out of all the things I did, you agree to the one planned with a little more than half a brain cell, in the middle of the night.”

“You asked and I’m getting an awful lot of weird looks and pointed phones every time you approach me. I was thinking about what a massive hit your popularity must have taken.” Morgan laughs even harder when Poppy attempts to dislodge herself from her but the arms surrounding her wouldn’t budge. “Okay, okay, don’t be mad. I thought; let’s get this over it. You were beautiful and i said to myself, I could do worse.” A harder poke makes her wince. “What? Can’t a girl be superficial sometimes? You got it right in the end, remember? I realized though that you were fun and not at all stuck up like I thought you were and I realized I really, really liked you.”

“Be careful with your words, I have half a mind to kick you out of bed.” Poppy narrows her eyes playfully.

“I might just pull you down with me.” Morgan leans in closer, just a breath away from Poppy’s lips.

The door almost went off its hinges, slamming against the wall. “Morgan!” A shock went through their spines at the intrusion.

“God!” Morgan flinched, almost banging her head against Poppy’s.

“What the hell!” Poppy was poised to throw her lamp at the intruder. Seeing there was not threat, she lowers it down forcefully, pointing a scathing glare to her friend.

“V. You scared the beejesus out of me.” Morgan cringed at the words that left her lips. More ammo for Poppy but really her soul has left her body at the shock so who can blame her appropriate choice of words.

“Really?” Poppy raises an eyebrow at her choice of words. She wants to just go back and continue the kiss she and Morgan almost had before Veronica’s unwelcome interruption. “What?” She asks in irritation.

“I need help. Are you decent?” Veronica stood there, wearing a pajama set with spongebob printed in them, of all things (a gift from Chloe.) She has her hands firmly covering her eyes. This must really be important if she dared show herself in anything less than couture.

“Is that a set? I hope it’s a set. I guess Poppy would have squidward ones right? Cause she’s grumpy.” Morgan stares at her amused.

“No… I don’t- Whatever. Focus, Morgan. You can open your eyes now, we’re not doing anything.” Poppy vehemently denies the accusation; she could have been doing something if not for the interruption. She steers the conversation back to Veronica, hiding her displeasure the best she can. She must not be doing a good job, because Morgan gives her a reassuring smile, patting her hand, tangling it with her own.

“She- I... I have an emergency.” Veronica’s face turns pale, dropping brusquely at the edge of their bed.

“Did something bad happen?” Poppy attempts to jump up from bed, wincing at the sudden pressure to her foot. Her anger fading into concern. "Tell me, I can help you hide the body.” She says seriously.

“No that’s not- What?” 

“Nothing, please continue.” Poppy acts as if she said nothing. What can she say? She was ride or die for her friends.

“Listen, I have a date and I don’t know what to do so please help me. And no, I don’t mean you Poppy, no offense but your ideas were terrible, I could live without it.”

“Why are you all like this. Go back to bed.” Morgan crosses her arms in exasperation.

“I resent that! They were mostly your ideas.” Poppy argues. She could have killed her, she was so nervous and it was all about a stupid date. She doesn’t voice it though; she knows she acted even worse when it was about Morgan.

“That’s why I need your girlfriend. We both share half a brain cell and I think it just left the building.”

“Why me? Cant this wait till morning? Some of us were attempting to sleep.”

“Yeah, right. I knew you and Poppy would be all over each other by now. You’re not even close to being sleepy. Anyway, Morgan please. I know you blew Poppy’s socks off with your date. I need you.”

“Zoey helped me out you know it wasn’t purely my idea. Let’s go ask her tomorrow. Just go to sleep.”

“No! Not Zoey.” Veronica cleared her throat after the outburst. “Uh-”

“Aha! I knew something was going on between you.” Morgan sits up straighter, amusement coloring her eyes. “Okay, I’ll give you a clue. I’ve been waiting for this moment since she started calling you V. Prepare for my awesome advice.”

“You’re better off asking Chloe.” Poppy quipped.

“Hey!”

“Shut it Pops, I want to hear this.” Veronica leans close not daring to miss one word. She was focused, if not for the lack of paper she would have taken notes.

“You must be desperate but whatever, I am prepared to be entertained.” Poppy smirks, closely watching the two.

“It’s a closely guarded secret but Zo is one of those nature freaks. She doesn’t act like it but yeah, she is, big time. So are you the active type?”

“What? No.” Veronica visibly pales, feeling a sense of danger at the suggestion. She’s the epitome to stay indoors with your gadgets kind of person.

“You know hiking and all that? Why do you think she’s so tall, it was all the hiking, my dear Veronica.”

“She's far from it. She could barely walk up three flights of stairs before her tongue comes lolling out.” Poppy snorts before laughing evilly. "Veronica and hiking? Now that, I’ll pay to watch."

“You’re kidding, there must be another way.” Veronica pleads.

“Maybe but it won’t be as epic. So if you want to impress... Pack your bags and leave your Veronicats. Prepare to see the outdoors.”

“But the trees- the bugs- sleeping on dirt-” Veronica whispers to herself as she slinks out of Poppy’s room in a trance.

“That’s what she gets for barging in.” They could hear the quiet click of Veronica’s door closing and a light thump.

“Should we check on her?” Concern tinges Morgan’s voice but she makes no move to leave the bed.

“No need. She’ll live.”

* * *

Morgan wakes up with the sun streaming through the window, she squints and feels a comfortable weight draped over her and she remembers what happened last night. She closes her eyes, savouring a few more moments of peace before they go back to reality. This last month has taken quite a toll on her and she knows it hasn’t been easy on Poppy either, God they’re both stubborn, her more so. Their chat last night did a tremendous wonder to her spirit. She’s happy, very happy. Poppy's warmth lull her back to sleep.

The next time she wakes, she slowly and carefully untangles herself from Poppy. She could feel her girlfriend stir and tighten her hold on her waist. “Five more minutes.”

Morgan realized she could never get out of this bed with Poppy being a dead weight. “Want to shower together?” Morgan whispers the words directly in her ear.

The speed in which Poppy’s eyes open is record breaking. “What did you say?” She asks, hopeful and alert.

“I asked you if you wanted breakfast.”

“No you said…” Poppy trails of with searching Morgan’s face for any sign of a lie, she gives up when her girlfriend doesn’t betray any. “Nevermind.”

“Come on. Don’t you wanna see Veronica panic?”

“I sure do. I’d pay to watch that train wreck happen.”

“From what she told me, you were worse.”

* * *

They make their way down to the kitchen, Morgan’s arm in Poppy’s firm grip, supporting her weight. She should have stayed in her room but Poppy was really convincing, so Morgan relents, at the condition that she wouldn’t move around needlessly, just because she wants to.

They see Chloe enter the kitchen, they hear a surprised gasp before Chloe exits the kitchen.

“Morning Chloe. What’s happening?” Morgan chirps, a little too happy this morning.

Chloe just shushes her with a finger against her lips. “Morning. I have to go, I’ll see you later.”

“Morgan! Is that you?” Veronica’s panicked voice could be heard from the kitchen.

“Ah I get it. No, you’re not escaping. If I’m not allowed to hide so are you two.” Morgan loops her free arm with Chloe, pulling the hesitant girls into the kitchen.

“Why are you so strong?” Chloe attempts to break Morgan’s firm grip but it’s useless.

“Let’s go help Veronica. She’s close to exploding right now.”

“Good Morning V! What the hell?” Morgan looks around, slack-jawed.

“I think she’s definitely worse.” Poppy whispers.

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language (From Poppysmc tumblr)


End file.
